The Tower's New Master 【Windbringer / Fenglei】 Hong Changki

I skimmed the rooftops, vaulted over utility poles, and ran with the sky at my back. Flying on aura would have been far too conspicuous, so I made the rooftops my shield to keep anyone from spotting me. Thanks to that paranoid caution, not one of the teeming crowds below managed to lay eyes on me.

'Did everyone in the tower come out to the streets? Even the ordinary civilians?' Here, there, everywhere — even dignitaries who would normally never give hunter business a second glance were mixed into the crowd. The closer I drew to the tower, the more the crowds swelled, and countless shouts and panicked screams filled the air.

'Fuck.'

I spotted the tower looming tall against the setting sun.

It was black.

The tower that should have been gleaming gold had been stained pitch-black from top to bottom, glaring down at the streets below.

'Fine, maybe Aphrodite had it coming — but why does the tower look like that? And what's wrong with the Skyscraper?' Right beside the tower, 【Skyscraper】, the symbol of the six Great Guilds, was on fire. Attacks rising from the ground were being smacked back down by skills fired from the upper floors — a modern-day siege in full swing.

'I have no idea what's going on. Most of the people in this crowd have nothing to do with hunter work.' If the guilds were fighting each other in a guild war, the streets would never be this overflowing. Hunters fighting hunters means danger — running for your life would be the sane response.

But that wasn't what was happening. Hunters, civilians, high-ranking officials, soldiers, tamed succubi, even the mob attacking the six Great Guilds — all of them were the same. Every last one of them was heading for the tower.

"What the hell is going on!?"

"No clue! They say the tower's been conquered!"

"Who says?"

"The tower!"

"They're saying the six Great Guilds seized the tower and plan to use it as private property!?"

"What does that even mean? I've never heard anything like that!"

"Doesn't matter — the rumor's already spread far and wide! Some bastards are even charging the Skyscraper for a raid!"

"Look at the tower!"

"What is that thing!?"

"This is bad! What if the monsters start pouring back out!?"

"I'm telling you they're not! I heard it loud and clear earlier! The tower's been conquered and the Tower Master taken into custody!"

"And I'm asking what that's even supposed to mean!?"

"That's exactly why we're heading to the tower!"

"Are we sure this is safe? Someone over there is raging around with skills!"

"The six Great Guilds are trying to hog all the profits, I'm telling you!? That's why people are raiding!"

"Who's fighting? I'm scared!"

"WHAT IS EVEN HAPPENING ANYMORE!!!!"

"First things first — to the tower!"

"The tower's talking to us!"

"Isn't this where the succubi come swarming out!?"

"It's backflowing! Backflow!"

"The tower's turned black! The end of the world is coming!"

"Fuck's sake, quit spouting that creepy bullshit!"

"Whatever — let's head for the six Great Guilds!"

"What do you mean, the tower's conquered!? The 50th floor only fell yesterday!"

"I DON'T KNOW!!!"

"I-It's a total mess...."

Not one of the people streaming toward the tower seemed confident about what they were doing. There was no sign of anyone organizing them — everyone had simply panicked and acted on their own, and this was the result.

'Then what the hell were those bastards screaming my name for?' I studied the scene more closely. This time, hunters trying to put distance between themselves and the tower caught my eye. They were bellowing at the top of their lungs, and their voices carried so well that even from my hiding spot on the rooftop, I caught every word.

"Run! The six Great Guilds are the ones behind it!"

"I knew something felt off!"

"Damn it, so they really did keep the profits all to themselves!"

"What the hell is deal with that Hong Changki guy!"

"Fuck... whatever — find that bastard! They say he's covered in blotches, so he'll stick out like a sore thumb!"

The hunters who'd been closest to the tower of anyone. All at once, their faces lit with sudden realization, and they started howling my name.

'What did they hear from the tower to set them off?'

Everyone else's reactions followed the same pattern. Approach the tower, realize something, fall back. Approach again, realize something, fall back again.... And in the end, they'd come out screaming about the "six Great Guilds" or "Hong Changki."

Did you see or hear something the moment you got close? '...Are they being interfered with somehow? Brainwashing, maybe?'

As I drew nearer to the black tower, a wide plaza came into view. Despite the enormous crowd gathered there, the center of the plaza lay completely open. The reason was simple. A transparent layer — what you'd call a system window — was wrapped around the plaza, endlessly tracing out [A C C E S S D E N I E D] in a shimmering barrier. Because of it, everyone who reached the tower found themselves unable to set foot inside, milling about at the edge of the plaza in utter bewilderment.

Krrrzzt!!!

"Guh!?"

'A voice — suddenly! Is this the thing they heard!?' The closer I came to the tower, the louder the voice grew. And it was a voice I'd heard somewhere before. Just like my call with Aphrodite earlier, static crackled as the signal cut out and snapped back over and over, interfering with my mind.

"Ghh!?"

My head throbbed. Sitting down on the rooftop closest to the tower, I flared my aura and gathered my wits, and the voice slowly faded away.

Instead, as if drawn by my aura, someone came dropping down onto the rooftop where I sat — tap, tap, tap.

"...Huh!?"

Half-suspecting they were after me, I sharpened my aura and glared.

"Changki!?"

"Oppa."

"Gigolo!!"

Seongyeon, Seres, and Brigitte.... Thankfully, they weren't enemies.

"Why didn't you pick up your phone!? Do you have any idea how worried we were!?"

"My phone vanished, so I couldn't. What about you lot — did you all gather here because of this too?"

"Yeah! You heard that just now too, right!?"

I nodded.

"So everyone really is hearing the same thing!!"

Catching her breath, Seongyeon traded a look with the companion standing beside her. They seemed to be double-checking something.

"Right?"

"Yes. It was Lady Suni's voice."

"Auntie thinks so too."

All three women confirmed it at the same time.

"Suni, you say?"

"That's right. You've talked with her a few times yourself. Even if you don't remember her exact voice, doesn't it sound like her?"

"It was crackling too hard for me to tell...."

More than that, I couldn't fathom why Suni — a woman who should be dead — was being mentioned here at all. Unable to hide my bewilderment, I straightened up.

Below the rooftop, right in front of the tower, the crowd was beyond insane. People shrieked asking what was going on, some cursed the six Great Guilds, some were hunting for me, and woven all through them were plenty of others celebrating the tower's conquest. It was chaos, plain and simple.... I wanted to tell them to pick a lane — celebrate or rage, just choose one.

"Oppa. What on earth happened while we were asleep? The 50th floor falls out of nowhere, we run face-first into this situation — do you have any idea how far out of my depth I am right now?"

"Seriously! What the hell is this!? What happened in the middle of the night!?"

"It wasn't exactly by choice. Ian suddenly called me out, and I spent the whole night being dragged around because of her. I only just woke up myself."

"Lady Ian did?"

"She wants to tell you all about what happened on the 50th floor herself. But even if she wanted to, there's no window for that right now — look around."

As if to prove my point, the air changed in an instant.

"———"

The crowd on the ground turned as one to glare at us.

"Kgh — Oppa!?"

"Changki. We move. Now."

"She's right. This place is dangerous. No telling what's about to happen!"

Too late. Before any of the three could haul me away, a transparent system window popped into existence.

A blue system window plastered with the same word, over and over. It bled black right before our eyes, then curled around me and my group in a ring.

"Changki!?"

"Calm down. They're not here to hurt us."

"And how exactly do you know that!?"

Because of Olivia. She was the one who'd summoned me to the tower in the first place — ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠she'd have no reason to harm me. And sure enough, the blackened system window addressed us in crimson text:

"The plaza!?"

"Over there!"

Fwoosh!

Light swallowed our bodies in an instant, and we landed in the very plaza Brigitte had been jabbing her finger at. Not just anywhere, either — inside the barrier no one else could enter no matter how they tried. I had no clue why we'd been called to this sanctum reserved for the anointed few, but thanks to it, countless stares speared into us.

"That's them — the six Great Guilds!"

"The guild masters finally showed up!!"

"Wh-where!?"

"There! Brigitte, the Mechanic guild master!!"

"And Song Seongyeon, Guild Master of 【Chomok】!"

"That's 【Butler】! And ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠the guy next to her is the one at the center of all this — Hong Changki!!"

"That's him!?"

"We've been searching everywhere — why is he only showing up NOW!?"

"Then explain what the hell is going on!!"

They demanded answers, and I couldn't give them a single one. I mean — fuck, I didn't know anything either.

"C-Changki...!"

"Relax. Nobody's going to eat you just for standing still."

"That's what I keep asking — why are YOU so sure of that!?"

I'd steadied myself because of the things Olivia had said, but Seongyeon had gone white as a sheet. She looked afraid that if this kept up, everything would be ruined and she'd end up choosing regression all over again.

"I'm telling you, it's fine."

"...Hnn!?"

I took Seongyeon's hand and soothed her down. She was in her male-disguise mode at the moment, but she forgot all about keeping up the act, her face flushing red as she finally settled.

"Oppa...."

"Haah."

Seres and Brigitte glared sourly at the pair of us, but I couldn't have cared less. Trusting that the other side was about to make its move, I turned my eyes up to the tower instead. The tower that had once blazed gold now ran black, dripping something like ink — and it kept prodding at my long-buried chuunibyou streak.

"So you have arrived."

"A pleasure to meet you, Hong Changki."

"Guild Master of 【Cartographer】. I am called Suni."

A voice rang out. Just as the girls had said — now that the audio came through crisp and clean, there was no mistaking it. It truly was Suni's voice.

"Hey. Suni. Why the hell are you still alive?"

"You were always going to hear it from me in person sooner or later."

"So let's save those questions for later."

"Hey."

I called out, but Suni ignored me.

"I have repeated myself until I was sick of the sound of my own voice, from dawn until this very moment."

"But so that every soul in this tower can hear it, I will explain once more — one final time."

From dawn until now.... Judging by the way she put it, had every warning she'd issued so far been scattered on purpose — bait dangled to reel me in?

"Ahem."

"To all hunters gathered here."

The woman who should have died spoke in a tone just slightly higher than her usual. This time, her voice swelled until it could reach every person far beyond the plaza. I wondered what could possibly warrant that much volume — and then she began spitting out ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠bombshells.

"What...?"

"What does that even mean? Seize the system!?"

Seres and Brigitte stood dumbfounded. All around us, the crowd's murmur — screams and cheers alike — never let up. Her voice got a little buried under the din, but she kept talking whether anyone liked it or not.

"Furthermore, all profits generated by the Tower of Lust will henceforth belong to us, the six Great Guilds."

"Well — isn't that only natural?"

"We conquered it. We restored order. We opened the gate."

"Operations will continue exactly as before. Beyond that, you will get no crumbs."

She said it flat, leaving no room for argument.

"———!!!!"

Beyond the barrier, a roar erupted from every throat at once. People raged over what that could possibly mean, while plenty more still hadn't grasped the situation at all. Even with the ground below in absolute shambles, Suni didn't stop. Like an impassive runaway locomotive, she kept hammering the stakes in.

"As it happens, the representatives of the six Great Guilds are gathered here right now."

"Let's ask them directly."

"Those who acknowledge the privatization of the Tower of Lust, please raise your hands."

Tak.

At the rap of something like a wooden gavel, they answered.

The voices of people who weren't even present came through vivid and alive. Naturally, some of them I didn't know at all — and mixed in were people I knew all too well, people who had no business being over there.

"With that, 【OP】, 【Cartographer】, 【Bronze Shield】 — three guilds are in agreement."

"I would next like to hear the answer of the remaining representatives standing inside this barrier."

"But before that—"

A smirk slid into her voice.

"Vice Guild Master of 【Cartographer】, the 【Vagabond】 — real name, Ji-hyun."

"Standing in for our former representative, 【Maan】's 【Great Witch of the East】, Lee Ian—"

"I would like to present the new representative of our six Great Guilds — and the future 'Master' of the Tower of Lust."

It was at that moment I understood.

What Olivia had meant.

Why she'd told me it would be all right.

Only now did I finally get it.