Chapter 57 Lord of Corpses
The Lord of Corpses
Episode 58
She was a spectral woman, steeped in exhaustion.
『The incarnation of <The Lord of Corpses> descends.』
『「The Unextinguished Crematorium Furnace」 manifests alongside its master.』
With her arrival, the world lost its warmth. Cold ashes scattered. A grayish hue settled over the field of vision, casting the surroundings in gloom.
Perhaps this was what a Western graveyard under stormy skies looked like.
Desolate. Ominous. The sight evoked nothing but such thoughts.
As the scent of smoke brushed past his nose, the woman shedding ashes continued her descent.
Yet, as she neared the ground, her emaciated frame became clearer.
Even from her flat chest, she appeared closer to a girl than a woman.
The Lord of Corpses.
The woman, falling as though committing suicide by plunging headfirst, bore such a fearsome title.
Suddenly, her translucent body halted midair.
For some reason, she refused to descend any further.
Nor did she so much as twitch a finger.
Only the tattered robe she wore fluttered unnaturally.
That minuscule movement alone was enough to distort everything on Earth.
Centered around her, a bizarre phenomenon spread—the world darkened.
"M-Mother...?"
The cult leader, flustered by her unexpectedly youthful appearance, barely managed to call her "Mother."
But the woman suspended in the air paid him no mind. Her gloomy gaze remained fixed solely on Park Si-hyun.
'Mother, huh... It's cringey all over again.'
The Lord of Corpses was called "Mother," but in truth, she had never once endured the pain of childbirth for anyone.
Moreover, she showed no particular attachment to others. Not once had she displayed warmth toward anyone, nor anything resembling gentleness.
Yet, she was called Mother.
Because she alone granted peaceful rest to fading lives.
She raised the still-warm corpses as cold white bones.
Thus, though pure, she was called Mother by the gravekeepers.
Groooan—
Her presence alone seemed to dominate the entire space.
Merely witnessing a fragment of her was enough to drench his instincts in terror.
That incomprehensible girl was on a different plane from living beings. The one who drowned the world in gray was an existence that must never be defied.
His survival instincts screamed a desperate warning.
<Why are you bothering me...>
A voice like nails scraping against rough metal reverberated through the air.
The drifting ashes abruptly grew heavier.
"Ghk?!"
In that instant, the pressure alone forced the air from his lungs. Breathing became impossible.
'Fuck....'
Was this the difference between an ant with its limbs torn off and a human?
The urge to drop to his knees before that presence and beg for his life surged within him.
Yet, even as the ashes fell, relentlessly pressing down on his shoulders, he refused.
Creak—
Finally, her pitch-black, lifeless eyes rolled toward Park Si-hyun.
From every angle, no vitality could be sensed from the Lord. Instead of life, something far more ominous filled her.
'Shit...'
Even with Read, he couldn't fully decipher the cosmic-scale presence before him. The sheer weight of information was too immense—only fragments could barely be parsed.
『Mana [S-]』
The only thing he managed to read was her staggering mana.
Even though she had no desire to assert her presence, even though what stood here was merely a fragment of her—
Just meeting her gaze made it feel as though the entire universe had settled upon his body.
"...Looks like the Tower isn't doing its job properly. Contracts like this are running rampant."
The inverted Lord of Corpses let her drowsy eyelids droop.
Her lips didn't move. Only her voice resonated.
<The Tower doesn't work...>
"What?"
Her weary eyes slowly closed. She didn't seem inclined to answer.
Instead, her graying black hair began floating as though submerged in water.
Whether the space around her was distorted or not, her strands swayed at different speeds.
<Don't bother meeeee...>
Her tone matched her childish appearance.
Only then did the cultists show surprise at their Lord's immature demeanor.
But the Lord of Corpses paid them no mind. To her, humans were lesser than microbes.
She had no intention of leaving any impression on them.
<Don't annoy me with complaints...>
Her voice was just as listless as it had been in the game—no, even more so in reality.
So indifferent that even those who once believed in her turned their backs.
Yet, the faith of the few who still gazed upon her remained unshaken.
"...O-Oh, our Goddess."
The cult leader, moved by the divine presence, exalted her.
Yet their master didn't spare him a single glance.
Whether she was ignoring him or not, the number of awestruck eyes fixed on the Lord of Corpses only grew.
The cult leader, in particular, trembled fervently.
Now that the divine being had appeared, the tide of battle had turned.
With Mother here, no one could stand against the Great Peace Sect.
Behold!
Hadn't the enemies lost their will to fight upon witnessing her?
Even with just a fragment of Mother's power, the foes had frozen like statues.
If they could eliminate Park Si-hyun with Mother's help—
"Anyway, nice to meet you. Lord of Corpses. I know this is sudden, but I've got an interesting proposal for you."
Yet, sacrilegiously, Park Si-hyun dared to address Mother directly. Even he had carefully chosen his words before sending them into the void beyond.
"...You bastard!"
The furious cult leader barked, but—
<......>
The girl said nothing.
As a Lord who had endured countless ages, few things could pique her interest.
But Park Si-hyun, a Possessor, knew the Lord of Corpses well.
Park Si-hyun was the only one who could possibly know her true desire.
He extended a contract toward her.
"Release every single person who made this absurd pact with you."
"......?!"
It wasn't a proposal—it was a command.
Everyone held their breath at Si-hyun's sudden audacity. Most were either on the verge of a breakdown or utterly aghast.
Occasionally, the narrowing of eyes brought with it a pressure that felt as though one's very soul were being torn apart.
Just what kind of nerve did Park Si-hyun have to spout such insolent words?
Yet Si-hyun stood as unshaken as ever.
Only he knew the truth behind the setting.
The Lord of Corpses, who had not a speck of interest in the living, wouldn't be swayed by groveling.
...No, she was far more intrigued by those who were arrogantly brazen—just like Park Ha-rin. Because, after all, the Lord of Corpses was an eccentric of the highest order.
"And if you agree... I'll..."
And then came the words that truly shocked them all.
"...kill you."
A mortal, with a lifespan as fleeting as a mayfly's, daring to speak of killing an immortal—it was an absurd declaration.
Anyone in the Tower would've labeled him insane on the spot.
Park Se-eun and Kim Seon-hwa stared at Si-hyun, utterly dumbfounded. Their gazes were nothing short of reproachful.
But just before the two could grab him by the collar and shake some sense into him—
<......?>
The Lord of Corpses showed the faintest reaction.
Her brows furrowed ever so slightly, betraying a sliver of emotion.
For a brief moment, her widened yet hollow eyes scrutinized Si-hyun with unsettling focus.
Then, the corners of her lips stretched horizontally—as though her mouth had been slit open.
<...You? You dare?>
With those words alone, the very atmosphere of Earth turned hostile.
The air became like millions of needles, flaying skin from flesh.
Even as one of the Tower's Administrators, the Lord of Corpses couldn't directly discern the full extent of Si-hyun's ability.
But through the senses of a transcendent being, she could tell—his power was pitifully weak.
A single breath from her would strip him to the bone, reducing him to nothing more than dust fit only to be reborn among the dead.
And yet this human...
Heh... heheheheheh!>
His eyes were too steady for a madman. It wasn't mere recklessness.
There was something unshakable in his conviction—something that, ironically, sparked the faintest flicker of interest in her.
For an instant, the world drowned in ash-gray. A pressure incomparable to Do Ro-rang's seeped into every crevice of existence.
<...Are you serious?>
Fortunately, the concept of "rudeness" didn't apply to her—especially not when it came from a stranger like Si-hyun.
"Yeah, dead serious. Because... that's your wish, isn't it?"
The girl's pallid complexion shifted ever so slightly.
A sudden silence settled between them.
Only her streaked black hair moved in that stagnant world. The face glimpsed through those strands wore an expression of incomprehension.
Si-hyun smiled knowingly.
'The concept of an immortal who longs for death but cannot die.'
The Lord of Corpses, as one of the dead, had no attachment to life.
If anything, her soul was so worn down that she wished to let go of consciousness at any moment. An insomniac, tormented sleepless night after night—a true madwoman.
'That's the truth of the Lord of Corpses—a Tower Administrator who yearns for death every single day.'
Every waking moment was agony for her. And so, she envied those who could die.
"I'll grant your wish. I'll kill you. So in return, help me grow stronger. It's not like you have anything better to do, lazing around in the Tower anyway."
Originally, this was Park Ha-rin's role.
The monumental feat of killing an immortal who couldn't die even when they wanted to.
In the original story, the Lord of Corpses had confronted Ha-rin in the late-game, only to finally meet her end. And in that moment, she had finally been able to sleep. The peaceful expression she wore then—I'd never forgotten it.
But now, it was my turn.
I would grant her peaceful slumber and claim the Authority of the Tower for myself.
"So you can rest at last—so you'll never suffer again—I'll kill you."
Park Si-hyun swore to grant the sleepless undead her eternal rest.
The longest-lived of the dead watched him in silence.
Ashes swirled between them.
#
The silence was so absolute that even the sound of sweat dripping would've been deafening.
Ash, falling like snow, settled thinly over the cultists' robes.
The listless girl remained silent.
But after what felt like an eternity, the corners of her lips stretched wide.
It wasn't a vivid expression. But for her, it was an unbelievably strong reaction.
are you?>
Si-hyun, meeting her lifeless gaze, murmured under his breath:
—A Seer.
A whisper too faint for anyone else to hear.
But to the ears of a transcendent being, it rang clear.
No—her transcendentally accumulated knowledge wouldn't allow her to dismiss it, even if she had only his lips and expression to go by.
—I saw the future where you die by my hand.
A sensation like scalding blood flooding a frozen heart.
Uncontainable ecstasy erupted into mad laughter.
<Ahahahahahahahahahaha!>
It was the first laughter she had uttered since her life had been extinguished.
A bone-chilling cackle that shook Seoul—no, the entire world.
Kyahahahahahahahahaha!
Her joy made the Earth's core tremble, triggering earthquakes.
Even the particles of light illuminating the sky quivered in fear, vanishing from sight.
Matter itself began tearing its connections apart, fleeing in terror.
Soon, the skeletal cathedral twisted violently, resonating with her laughter.
It was as though the entire fragmented space was mocking him.
Ahahahahahahahaha!>
Her laughter, hollow as a discarded husk, was nonetheless filled with the cunning malice of a child.
Under the bewildered gazes of the onlookers, Park Si-hyun gripped the holy sword with both hands.
The blade, held sideways, reflected his eyes in its steel.
At a glance, they seemed to tremble.
But.
"Last warning. Release your contractors and hand over the benefits."
『"Optimal Progression" is in effect.』
They did not waver in the slightest.
Even if it was for the sake of the game's true ending—『Happy End』—
Park Si-hyun pointed the holy sword at the Lord without a single tremor.
"Then I'll grant you your liberation too."
The Lord's lips twisted into a crooked sneer.
Her cruel smirk resembled that of a demon who had just discovered a new plaything.
<With just words... I can't possibly believe you...?>
"Fine. If you insist, give me your test."
The Lord's smile warped strangely.
<...Very well, Climber. If that's your wish...>
From the narrowed slits of her eyes, eerie flames erupted.
Kugugugung.
Beneath the horrified cult leader's feet, an earthquake began.
『"The Lord of Corpses" tests you with <Administrator's Authority>.』
Like the ground itself being overturned, pale hands burst forth in droves. The hands of zombies, reeking of darkness.
Neither the speed nor the number of zombies tearing through the floor could compare to the cult leader's earlier display.
In an instant, the tide of corpses swallowed the ground.
Crimson eyes, more sinister than before, burned through the ashen air.
<If you truly can kill me... prove it...>
『"The Crematorium's Undying Furnace" ignites.』
『Survive the dead empowered by "The Lord of Corpses."』
The air, thicker than ever, clung like rotting fluid. An inexplicable heat tightened the space, pressing in from all directions.
"Just one request."
Park Si-hyun parted his lips. His razor-sharp gaze locked onto the Lord.
"Target only me."
"What?!"
"Hey?!"
Park Se-eun and Kim Seon-hwa, both deathly pale, cried out in shock simultaneously.
Unable to hold back, Kim Seon-hwa grabbed Si-hyun's wrist in agitation.
"What... are you doing?! Why are you... so determined to die...?!"
Her voice trembled with panic, but as she stared into Si-hyun's resolute face, a sob welled up, choking her words.
She hadn't imagined that raiding the Great Peace Sect would turn into something this dire.
Had she known such an absurd being would appear...
'...I would've stopped you no matter what it took...'
"It's fine."
But Si-hyun's voice was unwavering. There was no proof. Yet his words carried a force that resonated in a woman's heart. Kim Seon-hwa, meeting his steady eyes, clenched her fists and stepped back.
"...This is the last time I let you do something this reckless. If it looks like you're about to die, I'll drag you to the ends of the Earth if I have to. Remember that!"
Park Se-eun also watched her brother silently, her expression unreadable. She couldn't fathom what he was thinking.
But one thing was certain—Park Si-hyun hadn't lost his mind to fear.
Se-eun clenched her fists and took a deep breath.
'At this point, we have no choice but to try... I'll trust him. If not for him, we'd all be dead anyway.'
It was then that the Lord, who had been still, tilted her head at Si-hyun's proposal.
<And why should I...?>
Si-hyun scoffed.
"Pfft, what, you scared? The max-level boss chickening out against a newbie climber, so you gotta take hostages and throw a tantrum? Huh? That it?"
<.............>
Even in a moment like this, Si-hyun was cocky. It was almost laughably amusing. She could see right through his taunts, but this time, she decided to indulge him.
For reasons unknown,
『"Censored Ability" is in effect.』
『"Optimal Progression" is in effect.』
Simply because she felt like it.
<...Very well. Then survive as best you can... If, by some miracle, you do... I'll make sure the reward is worth your while...>
"Didn't need you to tell me to try hard."
Si-hyun swung the holy sword lightly. A sliver of light warped the darkness.
A single frail beam, cutting through the ash-choked space.
With that lone light, he gripped the holy sword.
The Lord of Corpses giggled again.
『All undead targets are now restricted to "Park Si-hyun."』
『The Tower wishes you fortune.』
Her pale face stretched into an ecstatic smile.
Licking her lips, she cast a sweeping gaze over him.
The moment she placed a hand on her sunken cheek in delight—
『The trial of "The Lord of Corpses" begins.』
Kwaaaang!
A swarm of shadows descended like a flock of birds.
Zombies lunged from the ground.
Se-eun and Seon-hwa, stepping back in shock, moved to shield Si-hyun—
But before they could, the corner of Si-hyun's mouth split into a grin.
Tatatatak.
Wind rushed in from the arm of the Zombie Swarm.
Someone dashed across the massive limb, leaping in an instant.
Srrrrrung.
A blade left its sheath. The ribbon tying back black hair fluttered.
Hwaaak!
A single line extended from that point.
No one saw when it happened.
The zombies charging at Si-hyun were bisected by a fine, razor-thin line.
It wasn't a slash from Si-hyun's holy sword.
Si-hyun couldn't produce such a clean cut.
That line could only be drawn by one truly beloved by the blade.
Oooooong!
The sound of air splitting elegantly reached their eardrums, sending a pleasant shiver down their spines. Only then did the zombies' bodies neatly separate along the severed line.
Thud.
The owner of the footsteps, which had become the wind itself, landed.
Right in front of Park Si-hyun.
The black ponytail tied with the beaded hairband Park Si-hyun had given her swayed gently.
A beauty clad in jet-black kendo uniform.
"I'm relieved. I arrived just in time."
A swordswoman with strikingly pure, clear eyes.
Arikawa Hayase.
The strongest DPS of Tower Journey had made her appearance here.