Chapter 55
Chapter 55
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 55
Chapter Title: First Experience
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...Hold hands?
Dagon paused to think.
Was it a suggestion to build a friendly rapport or forge an alliance?
But what business would a demon merchant like Dagon have with a witch?
It couldn't be about cooking together.
"You mean join forces with that witch?"
"Exactly as I said. Shake hands."
"...A handshake?"
It was utterly out of left field.
Demons and witches were as close to sworn enemies as it got.
Demons viewed witches as little more than parasites infesting the Abyss.
Lurking in the deepest reaches where demonic hands couldn't reach, they were malignant entities that tore cracks into the Abyss itself.
So what could shaking hands with one possibly mean?
No matter how many coins were on the line, some lines simply couldn't be crossed.
"I have no intention of getting chummy with the witch, but..."
"No need to get chummy. Just one handshake."
Dagon tilted his head.
He couldn't fathom Park Chan-woo's intentions.
Witches were a cursed race, wielding unfathomable black magic.
But their curses rarely worked on demons.
That was why witches hid in the Abyss's depths.
"A simple handshake is all?"
"Have you lived your whole life getting duped?"
"Suspicion is a merchant's bread and butter."
"I swear it on my name."
"If you put it that way..."
Dagon relented.
Sepiro, sovereign of magic and pinnacle of dragonkind.
The weight of his name rivaled an entire world.
"But would the witch even shake hands with me? Witches hate demons just as much as demons hate them."
"Hm."
It was a fair point.
He'd need consent from both sides first.
Park Chan-woo stepped toward Adora.
"Care to shake hands with Dagon?"
"...If that's what you want."
"Does my opinion matter that much?"
"I have no desire to touch a demon's filthy hand of my own will."
She summoned the demon herself.
Park Chan-woo let out a quiet sigh.
Fortunately, Adora seemed to view Dagon and him as separate entities.
Still, her resolve was ironclad.
She loathed demons every bit as much as Dagon loathed witches.
"Give it a try."
"...Isn't that demon your summon?"
"Something like that."
"Things could go wrong."
"Don't kill him."
Park Chan-woo shrugged.
Demons and witches.
They inhabited the same Abyss, yet treated each other like vermin.
Forcing these two mutually abhorrent beings to clasp hands.
If Dagon survived, it would prove Adora had gained some control over 'death'.
A slim chance, but worth the gamble.
'Save both Kankun and Adora.'
He meant it.
He vowed not to let the Tower of Arrogance dictate the scenario.
If the tower intended to let only one survive and twist the victor into a 'Creator'...
He'd shatter that plan.
It was the same vein as the Creators, after all.
This place was no different from the Abyss shaped by 'Arrogance'.
And Park Chan-woo's goal was to bankrupt 'Arrogance'.
The surest way to bankrupt a Creator was to defy their intentions.
Park Chan-woo was deadly serious about bankrupting Creators—he was called their natural predator for a reason.
'Arrogance is no different from the rest.'
He'd thought otherwise before learning its goal.
It had bolstered humanity's growth, after all.
Granting power to resist the Abyss and Creators.
But if its aim was to manufacture a 'Creator'...
That made it more dangerous than any Creator.
'I'll bankrupt you.'
He placed Arrogance on the same level as the Creators.
No matter what offers it made, he wouldn't play along.
Every proposal was a poisoned chalice.
By hook or by crook, he'd enable Adora to control death.
Losing Dagon would hurt, but success could save Kankun.
After that, bankrupting the Tower of Arrogance would be his true objective.
"......"
"......"
Adora and Dagon.
The witch and the demon faced each other.
Adora's expression was colder than ever.
She loathed it, wanted nothing more than to kill him on the spot.
'A mage contracted with a demon.'
A demon summoned by Park Chan-woo.
As a mage, he'd likely bound this demon in a contract.
Had she known from the start, she never would have kept him around.
The witch-demon feud was far worse than outsiders imagined.
Moreover, Adora had trained under the 'Black Witch'. The Black Witch's hatred for demons was fathomless.
—This Abyss was originally ours, the witches'.
—Demons are invaders who stole our home.
—Filthy pests that must be exterminated.
—Wipe them out. Crush every last one.
She'd grown up hearing such words daily.
Naturally, Adora despised demons too.
The only reason she'd spared Dagon thus far was Park Chan-woo.
Right after reaching the tower's 5th floor, he'd begun to waver.
Whether to leave or stay.
She'd sensed it instinctively but had no grounds to stop him.
He'd sacrificed for her sake all along.
Yet he'd stayed, even summoning a loathsome demon to push his will through.
'Those contracted to demons suffer greatly if the demon dies.'
Everyone who'd ever joined hands with her had died—except Park Chan-woo.
He knew that, yet urged her to shake the demon's hand.
If the demon died, the contracted Park Chan-woo would take a massive hit.
Adora no longer wanted him dead.
"...I'll shake, witch."
"Do it."
Dagon extended his hand slowly, face tense and furrowed, as if he couldn't bear to watch.
He even turned his head away.
Finally, Adora and Dagon shook hands.
Skin met skin.
Zzzzzzt!
Both their skins vibrated faintly.
It felt utterly revolting, no doubt.
But the peaceful moment ended there.
"Gack?!"
Dagon shrieked as if choking.
He yanked desperately, but Adora held firm.
"Kek! Kyriririririr-!"
Dagon's condition deteriorated rapidly.
His eyes spun wildly like a beast's, rolling 360 degrees.
Adora shut her eyes tight.
She focused every ounce of will, wrestling death under control.
Straining not to kill Dagon.
How much time passed?
"...Success."
Park Chan-woo smiled.
Adora had fully conquered death.
It wasn't just that Dagon survived.
Even after releasing his hand, Adora kept her eyes closed.
Soon, the 'realm of death' surging around her expanded rapidly.
The difference from before?
Not everything it touched died.
However.
The monsters on the 5th floor of the Tower of Arrogance—hostile to Adora—were wiped out.
Just a散布 of aura suffocated even the floor guardian.
'Incredible as expected.'
A truly terrifying power.
A befitting rank 10 monstrosity.
Adora, having mastered ruling death, was far stronger than before.
Park Chan-woo watched her intently for a long while.
At last, Adora slowly opened her eyes.
Looking straight at Park Chan-woo.
"...Thank you, Park Chan-woo."
"......"
Park Chan-woo couldn't respond.
For a fleeting instant.
Perhaps a trick of the light.
'Can a witch smile?'
Adora had definitely smiled.
But claiming to have seen a witch smile? No one would believe it.
Witches never smiled—that was common knowledge.
Pop!
"Oh, beautiful one!"
"...?"
"Love at first sight! Do you know who I am, by chance?"
Dagon suddenly shot to his feet, spouting nonsense before collapsing again.
"...Hm."
Han Shin stared silently at the staircase leading to the 6th floor.
This was where the floor guardian Griffin had been.
Griffin was a top-tier monster, a sacred beast.
The polar opposite of Adora, who wielded death.
Yet it couldn't withstand her aura and perished.
A testament to Adora's might.
And not just that.
All demonic beasts on the 5th floor were instantly eradicated.
Right after, Adora vanished.
She must have ascended the tower.
Han Shin slowly approached the stairs.
"......"
The message barring ascent without Adora's choice.
It had gone from absurd to outright infuriating.
He'd done everything to empower Adora.
Gathered sacred objects, earned her notice multiple times.
He'd seen at a glance that she was the key to conquering the tower.
Yet.
Adora hadn't chosen Han Shin.
Not even a glance his way.
This was the first time he'd been so thoroughly ignored despite his efforts.
"What... are you, mage."
Grind!
Han Shin gnashed his teeth.
Some mage had monopolized all of Adora's attention.
How could this be?
Even Creators clamored to contract with him.
Every being he'd encountered—regardless of age, gender, or race—couldn't look away.
That's who he was.
A man who shone even at rest.
The center of all gazes, the ideal everyone yearned for!
And yet.
'...Stolen.'
Not even losing a scheme to some unknown had irked him this much.
But realizing Adora's favor had been stolen? It ignited a mad rage.
Rejected.
Unable to climb these stairs because of it!
All the sacred objects he'd painstakingly obtained were replaced, his efforts for naught.
Han Shin burned with fury at it all.
The problem? No outlet for his rage.
Because.
...He had no idea who it was.
Adora had hidden the man thoroughly.
Blocked Han Shin's 'Mind's Eye', and even.
Creators' gazes too.
As if claiming him exclusively.
Perfectly concealed.
Of course, Creators couldn't wield power in the Tower of Arrogance, so it was inevitable.
'A feeling I've never known.'
This sensation was new.
Absurd, irritating—but the overwhelming tidal emotion was something else.
"...I see. So this is what wretchedness feels like."
Wretchedness.
No one had ever made him feel this way before.
What to do?
How to shake it off?
Han Shin reached a conclusion.
"My contractor. I shall participate in the 'Second Night'. This time, prepare properly."
Han Shin had skipped the 'First Night'.
Because his contractor, the Creator 'Aheta', had foreseen failure.
Yet Lee Hyuk-soo had slain the 'Dragon God General' there.
Predictions dashed, Aheta's reputation as a Creator tarnished.
Perhaps that's why.
—Expect it.
The long-silent Aheta finally replied.
As if vowing to make the Second Night a success.
'You'll join too, mage.'
Han Shin was certain.
That mage would undoubtedly participate in the 'Second Night'.
Until then, he'd prepare with full might for the first time in ages.
And.
'I'll find you.'
Hunt down the mage in the 'Second Night'.
...And eradicate him.
He couldn't allow anyone to eclipse him, to shine brighter in this world.