Chapter 433: Tower Reaching the Sky (3) - Goodbye
Chapter 433: Tower Reaching the Sky (3) - Goodbye
By the time I regained my senses, much had already collapsed.
The tower, which had soared high enough to pierce the heavens, looked as if its base had been gnawed away by a wolf. A massive crater had formed in the earth.
The sky was clear, with a bright moon hanging above, as if something immense had just swept through.
A moonlit sky without a single cloud.
The damp mist that had incessantly dominated the battlefield had vanished.
The black smoke born from the fires had scattered.
Even the clouds that had veiled the sky, formed by the condensation of steam, were gone.
Everything had disappeared, revealing the dark expanse of the heavens.
The tower began to tilt.
It was tall, but not as tall as I had thought.
The tower that had once stood vertically, seemingly reaching for the stars, had lost some vital function after being struck by my attack.
Far from reaching the sky, it began to crumble, now possessing only the height of an ordinarily tall building.
However, it didn't fall immediately.
“Hahahaha! Incredible! Simply incredible! That’s what a successful specimen should be!”
“…The output far exceeded our predictions, but it is no matter.”
The two entities, now fused, raised their massive arms to prop up the tower.
As I realized this, a surge of immense fury rose within me once again.
Just as I was about to surrender to that rage and charge at The Enemy—
“Get a grip.”
“Wake up, you single-celled idiot. You’re worse than a Wild Boar.”
Thump. Wham.
Two completely different sensations hit my body simultaneously.
One was a simple, heavy pat on the back.
The other was a powerful blow to the head with a heavy, blunt object.
“Who the hell was that?”
I turned around, directing my anger toward the source.
“What are you glaring at, you arrogant little brat?”
There stood the Lord of Infinite Castles, scowling at me, and Ultimate, who wore a bitter smile as if relieved I had come to my senses.
However, both of them were in a state of total disarray.
Their exposed skin was covered in wounds, as if they had been caught in something violent.
Ultimate was relatively fine, all things considered.
But the Lord of Infinite Castles looked to be in serious condition.
The Concrete Colossus had lost its head and one arm at the shoulder, and the remaining body was riddled with cracks, looking as if it would collapse at any moment.
In contrast to the colossus’s broken arm, the Lord of Infinite Castles seemed to have a mangled leg, which he had encased in concrete.
A sense of foreboding washed over me.
What could have injured them like that?
He had fought the Flesh Giant without a single scratch on his Main Body. Who could have inflicted such damage?
Had The Enemy ambushed him while I was lost in my rage?
That was possible.
But maybe.
Just maybe.
They were caught in my attack…
“I messed up and got hit by the giant.”
The Lord of Infinite Castles cut through my thoughts.
He continued speaking.
“Ultimate, you saw it too, didn’t you? That giant thrashed me, then ran to the pillar to fuse with those crazy lunatics.”
The Lord of Infinite Castles, seemingly unable to use his hands easily, gestured toward the pillar with his chin.
“Ah. Uh. Um. Right. Exactly,” Ultimate replied with an uncharacteristic stammer.
I began to sift through my mind, trying to decide what to say.
“Do you still have the strength to fight?”
The Lord of Infinite Castles leaned in close to my face before I could find the words.
“Uh… yeah. Probably.”
I answered reflexively while checking my condition.
I had no idea what I’d done while I was out of it. My shoulders felt like they were about to shatter, and despite the lingering fury, my mana was scraping the bottom of the barrel. My legs were slow to respond.
Still.
I could fight.
At least enough to bring that tower down.
“Good. Then go.”
The Lord of Infinite Castles patted my shoulder and said, “Your attack slowed those damn meat-clumps down. Protecting the tower seems to be their priority now, so the frequency of subordinates spawning has dropped drastically. That giant fellow has returned to the earth, unable to do anything. The balance has shifted; the Management Bureau’s forces will attack the tower soon.”
He calmly explained the situation.
By the way, Old Man, it’s the Defense Force, not the army.
And you just said you got thrashed by the giant, but now you’re saying the giant didn’t do anything. You should at least make your lies consistent.
Of course, I didn’t say that out loud.
The Lord of Infinite Castles continued.
“A lot of people got hurt because of your rampage, but…”
Tsk.
He clicked his tongue once.
“Go.”
He pushed the back of my head with his palm.
With a hand that felt completely devoid of strength.
Accepting that push, I ran toward the tower.
The assault began.
“We shall reach the heavens! Do not interfere!”
“Existence verification procedure. In progress.”
Countless explosions erupted around the tower.
As the Lord of Infinite Castles had said, the attacks directed at the Defense Force had diminished. The Air Force had returned to strike the tower, and shells continued to rain down from afar.
The outer walls of the tower, which had seemed indestructible, were being chipped away bit by bit.
Flesh fell, and fell, and fell again.
Yet, it didn’t seem like it would collapse.
The fallen parts regenerated, and the two fused entities shouted loudly as they propped up the swaying sections.
I gathered my strength as I ran.
Minor attacks might annoy them, but they wouldn’t bring the tower down.
What was needed now was one powerful blow.
An irreversible strike containing all my strength.
Wishing for that, I sprinted across the battlefield.
Rain began to fall.
As if the air could no longer hold the oversaturated moisture.
The ground began to get wet.
The earth, soiled with flesh, dirt, and stone, turned into a muddy slush.
I kept running through it.
“The Sea resides within all our minds! From that black and blue abyss, we shall return!”
“The River of Humanity flowing beneath the earth signifies the Blue Sea. We, the immortal, shall rise again from the river.”
Nonsensical words poured out.
I didn't try to understand them.
They had entrusted it to me.
To bring down the tower.
Then I would simply bring it down.
“In the beginning, man saw The Sea! Man spoke with everyone!”
“Within it, we shall become one. That is the path to ascension.”
Even as I raised my hammer, they continued to babble.
Their voices grew louder and louder.
Many emotions filled me.
It had been a long battle.
Many questions remained, but this was The End.
I pushed aside the thought that those damn fake doctors might escape.
“God exists in the heavens! We shall summon God!”
“The tower shall be completed. By the hands of an entity that is neither man nor woman.”
Even if I lost them, I had to end this battlefield.
Too much blood had been shed; too much had happened.
Step.
I kicked off the mud and leaped into the air.
Higher than the tower, with the night sky at my back.
I raised my hammer high.
To crush everything beneath it.
Whoosh.
I plummeted with a sound like being swallowed.
The Hammer, imbued with immense power, fell toward the earth, pulled by its own weight.
Following the trajectory of The Hammer, space itself began to collapse.
The tower, unable to even regenerate, was swallowed into the abyss.
In that process, our gazes met.
The two entities propping up the tower while looking at the sky—they were smiling as they looked at me.
“The tower containing our everything is destroyed by the hands of the successful specimen!”
“The value of our lives is betrayed once again.”
They laughed even as everything was coming to an end.
I didn't give them an answer.
Boom.
I landed on the ground, still gripping The Hammer.
My whole body ached.
I had maintained the spatial collapse, which could tear a body apart in an instant, for a long time.
Naturally, my body was a wreck.
Now, truly without a shred of strength left, I simply looked up at the night sky.
A single moon entangled in the rainy night.
It was truly clear.
“Haha.”
Is it over?
I laid my body down on the ground.
It was quiet and peaceful.
My intuition no longer rang with danger signals that something remained.
After so many incidents and so many battles.
It seemed this was truly The End.
I heard cheers.
The sound announcing the end of the battle.
It was raining steadily, but well, if it’s over, it’s over, right?
Thinking that, I lay on the ground and watched the clear moon.
Perhaps because of the rain, the clear moon hung in a violet night sky.
The rain falling through it reflected the moonlight, sparkling beautifully.
…Something’s wrong.
The moment a sense of incongruity flashed through my mind—
Flash.
With a momentary glint.
Light erupted.
And a voice began to echo.
‘Long ago, man built a tower toward the heavens to reach God.’
‘God was angered and struck the tower down.’
‘Thus, man could no longer hear the true heart of another, and could no longer reach The Sea.’
‘What happened because of the tower was a great tragedy for humanity, but it left humanity with one hope.’
‘The one who destroyed the tower.’
‘That is to say, God exists.’
‘The God who struck down the insolent who believed they could reach the heavens.’
‘By us, and no other, opening the greatest sin in the world and practicing the most widespread knowledge in the world…’
‘The heavens… are opening.’
Light soared.
From the place where the tower had vanished.
A tower of light.
A Pillar of Light descended.
* * *
A voice echoes in the empty spectator seats.
In the chairs where so many had once sat, only a few remained, gazing at the spectacle beyond.
Those who had passed the third and faced the beginning of The End.
Because only a finite number of beings across infinite worlds had reached this point.
“…It’s a nostalgic sight. Probably for you. And for all of us.”
Among them, one of the powerful entities, countable on ten fingers, spoke.
“Huh? I’ve never seen a sight like this. In the first place, I devoured so much after the second that I never gave those things a chance to act up.”
Among them, a greedy one who had fallen and swallowed worlds for the sake of justice spoke.
“I’m not saying the exact same situation is unfolding. I’m talking about that wicked Pillar of Light.”
Sitting on a throne of skulls, she tapped her fingers and continued speaking.
“Ah. Then I understand. Because that is an unavoidable finale.”
He stood up, rolling the countless eyeballs that had sprouted all over his body.
“It’s too early. The fourth hasn’t even appeared yet. And yet, the Pillar of Light has already struck down…”
The Ruler of Death, speaking thus, fidgeted with a halo of light held in her hands, lost in thought for a moment.
“Then it’ll be a total mess. With the fourth being hammered in there, and—wait, wasn't there a Scenario Master in that world too? Wow. What a disaster. Even I wasn't that bad.”
The one who had been gnawing on his own hand began to laugh through the mouth on his stomach, finding it amusing.
Despite the loud laughter echoing, the entity sitting right next to him continued to touch the halo of light, lost in thought.
“…Why? There was no reason for this world to become like this already. It’s not in the stabilization phase, there’s no reason for The Planner to withdraw because the audience has dwindled, and no one was provoked to anger. So why?”
A voice murmured softly.
The sound of fingers scratching the skull throne began to overlap with the voice.
“…Right, if it’s a whim, I can understand. There’s no point in asking those things for a logical explanation when their very essence is chaos. Then, where will the fourth come from? What about the progression of the story?”
Lost in her own world, she continued to scratch the chair, unaware that her voice was growing louder.
When even those sitting far away, comfortably observing the situation, began to turn their heads toward her—
“…A guest.”
With that chilling, scratching voice, the Glutton spoke.
Swallowed by darkness, he shouted, opening mouths all over his body.
“Faceless Queen. Come out. This time, I will definitely devou—”
As the Glutton spoke, animalistic laughter echoing from his many mouths—
Pop.
The Glutton, who had been preparing to fight, suddenly exploded like a balloon, scattering shadows everywhere.
Gurgle.
From within, an entity with a female body crawled out.
An Existence of The End who had retained her reason by imposing countless restrictions upon herself.
She had appeared here by using one entity as a sacrifice.
Thrusting forward her non-existent face, she spoke.
“The Final Act.”
“…What?”
With a face full of rage, the one who had pointed her staff at The Queen spoke, sounding bewildered.
“This is not the end of a world. It is the first gateway for a new beginning that starts now.”
The Queen did not react to those words; she simply spoke what she had to say.
Toward her—
“Who told you to eat my body!”
The resurrected Glutton charged.
“You’ve got guts, Queen of Lies.”
A woman in the form of an adult, holding a mechanical lance, pointed its tip at The Queen.
“In your true form, perhaps, but do you think you can leave here alive in an Avatar class? Queen of Truth.”
A small woman with elemental orbs of various colors floating around her threatened her, clashing gauntlets as large as her own body.
Thus, four were the first to rush to The Queen’s side.
And there were dozens more who had realized the situation late, or had noticed the moment she descended but were slow to arrive.
All of them showed their hatred, uttering countless words to The End with whom they shared the deepest connection.
Everyone here had met her at least once.
Unlike other Ends, who were like natural phenomena and impossible to converse with unless in special circumstances.
She had shown her face and continued to engage in dialogue.
There were those who had been helped by her.
There were those who had been harmed by her.
There were those who had been murdered by her.
There were those who had been saved by her.
There were those who had been betrayed by her.
And there were those who were linked to her as friends.
All of them ultimately hated her and descended before her.
Yet, the faceless woman paid no mind to any of it.
Pshhh.
Ignoring the spear pressed against her throat, she moved her body, her throat vibrating.
Along with the pouring red blood.
Along with the pouring black blood.
“The world is a circle that continues infinitely. However, that is not interesting.”
Her body burst into flames.
Her body was swallowed.
Her body was severed.
Even amidst that, the Faceless Queen raised her voice.
“If it is a simple finale, the circle is merely cut, and eventually, it connects anew.”
She, who was nowhere, continued her words to everyone.
“A severance that cannot be reconnected. If that strikes down, the line begins to squirm to weave a new circle.”
Everyone present listened intently to her words.
Some understood her, while others did not.
However, there was only one person who ignored her words.
“Hey. Give me back my flesh.”
Only one, who sat there picking up and eating her flesh with a giant mouth.
After some time, the most composed person there finally spoke.
“What is the guarantee that this world will truly become like that?”
The entity to answer those words had already vanished.
‘There is none. That is why it is interesting.’
Only the answer remained to resolve the doubt.