Chapter 149
Chapter 149
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 149
Chapter Title: Tower of the Dead
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The Tower of the Dead.
A space where souls who have ended their lives linger until they reincarnate in Hell.
For the souls that arrive here, it doesn't matter at all whether they were heroes who shook the world in their previous life or lowly commoners whose names aren't even remembered.
They are simply assigned positions and duties in the order of their arrival.
Even the great demons we faced earlier passed through this place to become rulers of Hell.
For example, I heard that Beelzebub was just one of countless lesser demons before becoming a great demon.
Until he unlocked his true power.
Step. Step. Step. Step.
Somehow, we had stepped into the cathedral once again.
Upon reaching the room where Raphael was sealed, a heavy air greeted us.
The repairs seemed to be fully complete, as no angels working on them were in sight.
Michael swiftly flew toward the wall and swung his sword with great force.
Boom!
The wall crumbled, revealing the staircase hidden within. Raphael had erected a barrier to ensure no one could enter this room.
"Three hours—that's the limit before it breaks."
[System Message]
[All players participating in the twelfth round are now granted entry to the 'Tower of the Dead.']
[Remaining Time: 02:59:58]
Gabriel decided to stay with Raphael to maintain the barrier,
while Michael and Uriel entered the Tower of the Dead.
-If you happen to run into Lucifer, don't fight him—return here immediately!
After hearing Michael's final shout, I turned to the rest of the group and said,
"This round is unfamiliar to me too, so no one go off on your own. If combat breaks out for any reason, prioritize escaping at my command. Got it?"
Ma Jeongwoo and Michael slowly nodded. Kim Yeonhee understood as well, flashing an OK sign with her fingers.
Yoo Sora swallowed hard and asked me,
"Are we going to have to fight Lucifer again here?"
I don't know.
This is my first time visiting the Tower of the Dead too.
"......Like I just said, I don't know. Whether we end up fighting or not, if combat starts with anyone, make escape your top priority."
"Escape as top priority.... Understood."
The idea of running away felt uneasy, but survival was guaranteed that way.
There weren't many, but occasionally monsters with instant-kill abilities would appear, so caution was key.
It would be too unfair to die here without knowing the strategy after coming this far.
To see the end, we had to survive first.
With all explanations done, I began ascending the stairs toward the Tower of the Dead.
Each step felt heavy. My armor weighed nothing, yet it was as if someone was pressing down on my knees.
At the top of the stairs, a wide open space appeared. About the size of a standard baseball field. It was dark, hard to see ahead, but the air was thick with the scent of earth.
'Did they just leave us behind....'
Michael and Gabriel must have gone so far ahead we couldn't catch up.
There wasn't a speck of light in front.
Kim Yeonhee pulled a flashlight from her pocket and shone it ahead.
"Kim Cheonjae, there's another staircase up ahead?"
In the direction she illuminated, stairs led upward. We could have reached it by just going straight.
If I were the game masters, I wouldn't let anyone pass through so easily without anything.
"......Revive."
[System Message]
[No summonable corpses available.]
First off, there were no corpses around.
I scanned everywhere, but not even a wisp of ghostly energy could be felt.
The 'Tower of the Dead,' which handles reincarnation in Hell, devoid of the aura of the deceased? That shouldn't happen under normal circumstances—what was going on?
Without hesitation, I started walking forward. The group lined up single file and followed my lead.
We moved in a straight line like a train.
It wasn't long before we reached the stairs to the next floor.
"......What?"
It was too easy.
We had breezed through the first floor of this five-story tower.
No mind games with strangers, no battles with monsters.
We had simply walked straight ahead.
'It feels off, but....'
Still, it was a relief.
How fortunate was it to reach the next floor without issue in a place called the Tower of Evil?
I led the group onward to the next floor.
Once again, Kim Yeonhee quickly spotted the stairs.
"Good job, Kim Yeonhee."
"Hehe.... No big deal!"
We stayed vigilant of our surroundings as we headed to the next floor.
And then to the next, and the next after that, and the one after that.
"......"
It was clearly a five-story tower, yet we hadn't reached the end.
The ground we were standing on was identical to the first floor from the initial round.
The deep earthy scent filling our nostrils seemed to confirm we were in the same place.
'......We're just going in circles in the same spot.'
Jeongwoo hissed air through his teeth.
Hiss-.
"What's going on? This place has the exact same layout as before."
"......Feels like we're looping in the same area."
"A mirror ability?"
"No, more like a trap hidden in this room. It's not letting just anyone go up...."
I slowly looked around. My eyes had adjusted somewhat to the darkness over time.
Familiar patterns etched on the walls.
Nothing else notable.
"Kim Yeonhee, go up the stairs alone."
"......Huh? Just me?"
"Yeah."
"But I'm scared."
"Don't worry."
With an uneasy expression, she headed toward the stairs. If we're looping, she'll come back.
Step. Step. Step. Step.
Kim Yeonhee, who had advanced upward, called out from behind us.
"Huh? Huh?! Huh!!"
"As expected...."
"What the hell is this?"
Jeongwoo tilted his head.
"Heh heh.... Haven't seen any spellcasters since arriving here. Is it a barrier set up by those demons ahead of time? To keep us from going to the next floor...."
"No, the Tower of the Dead isn't a place where angels or demons can casually cast spells."
"......Then?"
"Probably some defensive mechanism activated by the tower itself."
I used Kim Yeonhee's flashlight to illuminate the entire wall of the first floor.
Depictions of past battles from the God-Demon War, etched in the cathedral.
I examined each drawing while circling the whole room.
"Demons.... Angels.... Is this the Openers?"
Judging by the wingless human forms and group composition, they were definitely humans.
Warrior, mage, healer, druid, witch.
The standard group setup in this game.
Different from the one I came up with, though.
[System Message]
[The master of the 'Tower of the Dead' closely examines Kim Cheonjae's group.]
'Now of all times?'
After finishing with the drawings, I returned to the center and addressed everyone.
"I've figured out how to get to the next floor."
Jeongwoo said to me,
"Then let's go right now."
"......But I don't know how dangerous it'll be after that."
"What?"
"The trials from the tower seem minor, but there are remnants of the God-Demon War up above."
"Remnants of the God-Demon War?"
"......Yeah. Not the current angels and demons—the beings that created the holy and evil entities back then."
Everyone looked confused, not understanding what I meant.
Except Yoo Sora.
She pulled out the 'Book of the Dead' she always carried and asked,
"Are you referring to the being called 'Tiamat'?"
"......Is it in that book?"
"Yes, the primordial world. A massive dragon that existed in that chaos, it says."
"Anything else?"
"Um.... That's it?"
Of course they wouldn't include actual clues in that book.
"Got it. Let me know if anything else appears in it."
Yoo Sora gave a wry smile and replied.
"......Sure!"
"The remnants of the God-Demon War that Sora just mentioned, the primordial being. Seems like this 'Tiamat' guy is inside. Not sure if friend or foe."
Jeongwoo shrugged and shook his axe.
"Friend or foe, if it comes at us, we smash it and move on, right?"
"Worried we'll be the ones smashed."
"We took down Luciel though?"
"That's different. I already knew Luciel's fatal weakness, but this one's new to me...."
Seeing me lack my usual confidence for once, the group's mood sank.
Michael looked around at everyone's faces, then forced a grin and said,
"Haha! We're here already, so let's just go for it. We can do this!"
"......Michael. Lives are on the line—are you sure?"
"Of course! Even if we can't eat it, it's still a feast!"
"Where'd you pick up that saying...."
"Cheonjae Kim told me."
"......"
Best to go by majority vote in cases like this. That way, no one resents each other if things go wrong.
I raised my hand and said,
"Those who want to proceed, raise your hand. Those who think we shouldn't, keep it down."
Everyone raised their hands.
A predictable response.
In a situation like this, no one would act differently alone.
"......Then we're going to the next floor. Any complaints, speak now."
None, naturally.
Kim Yeonhee sidled up close to me and asked,
"By the way, you really know how to get to the next floor?"
"......Yeah."
"How?"
I ruffled Kim Yeonhee's hair vigorously, then headed back down the stairs we used to enter the tower.
"Huh? You said next floor—why are we going down?!"
"This is the way up."
"......Huh?"
"This tower rises downward. Meaning—we take the lower stairs, not the upper ones."
"......Oh?"
"The one who built this tower is the first 'Opener' mentioned in the Book of the Dead. Probably hid it like this to evade the demons' eyes."
Step. Step. Step. Step.
My footsteps echoed on the stairs.
Light leaked from the bottom.
Just as I thought.
A simple spell by witches to send back intruders invading their domain.
I figured it out from the depictions of the Openers on the first floor's walls.
One of them wore a witch's outfit.
[The Third Eye admires your keen insight.]
[The Game Watchers cheer for Kim Cheonjae, who progresses the game swiftly without delay.]
'The Third Eye' and 'The Game Watchers.' I could guess what they were.
Judging by their specific reactions to my actions,
'Probably.... the audience of this game....'
Step.
At the end of the stairs, a flower field suddenly unfolded. A beautiful place unimaginable as Hell.
Torches lined the walls, illuminating everything brightly.
This space was also about the size of a school field, like the first floor.
In the center stood a single wooden box.
[System Message]
[Welcome to the second floor of the 'Tower of the Dead.']
Arriving on the second floor, I cautiously surveyed the surroundings.
"......No scent at all."
The rest followed me down to the second floor.
-Kim Cheonjae! You actually made it to the next room? Your instincts are insane!
-It's so pretty.
-Wow! A flower field out of nowhere.... Not sure what kind, but the colors are so vivid.
As everyone marveled in delight, only Ma Jeongwoo approached me with a grim expression.
"Kim Cheonjae. This flower isn't that stuff, is it?"
"......Cannabis."
"Yep."
"We need to get out of here fast."