Chapter 330
Chapter 330
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Translator: Ace
Chapter: 330
Chapter Title: The Black Door
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Dozens of daggers danced through the air. The head and heart—vital spots that caused instant death upon penetration—were pierced one after another.
Though they appeared pitch black, the monsters' weak points were no different from a human's. In the midst of such a battlefield, Ye-ryeong moved like a fish in water.
Flash!
In the meantime, there was only one thing Soo-hyuk did.
Cleave the castle gate.
Rumble...
With a swing of Lightning, the gate split in two with a single stroke. The soldiers outside, flustered by the parting gates, poured into the castle in droves.
"What did you do? Why'd you cut the gate?"
"Exactly what it looks like."
The soldiers who entered the castle swung their swords at the monsters of unknown origin.
A real war had suddenly begun.
Watching the scene, Ye-ryeong wore a baffled expression.
"What is this?"
"If we'd been tricked, we would've fought them instead. Well, neither side are real humans anyway."
Deceived by the monsters, fighting their enemies in their place, only to face the monsters again once exhausted from victory.
That was the true purpose of this stage.
"Meaning they're on our side."
"Almost wasted our energy for nothing."
The battle ended quickly.
All Soo-hyuk and Ye-ryeong did was watch from the sidelines, occasionally helping the soldiers.
From the first stage to the second, it had ended more easily than expected. The final monster resisted fiercely but ultimately collapsed, skewered by the soldiers' blades.
At that moment, clank.
Another padlock dropped in front of Soo-hyuk and Ye-ryeong.
The second lock.
Gazing down at it, Ye-ryeong spoke in exasperation.
"What's next?"
"No way it's ending this easily."
This was a seal created by none other than Mercian. No matter how much ingenuity they'd shown, it couldn't be this straightforward.
"Up till now, it was probably just to wear us down. The real thing starts next."
And sure enough.
Whoosh...
Two doors appeared before Soo-hyuk and Ye-ryeong.
One black, one white.
"Does it know there are two of us?"
"Or maybe it's a test to choose one."
"Go in one by one together? Or separately?"
Soo-hyuk pondered Ye-ryeong's question before answering.
"Let's go together."
An unexpected response.
The Soo-hyuk she knew would have chosen to go separately. He trusted his companions that much.
Yet here he was, choosing to stick together without prioritizing efficiency.
'Does it look that dangerous?'
A decision born from having lost comrades once before.
It might even be the wrong choice. Both Soo-hyuk and Ye-ryeong knew that much.
But Ye-ryeong didn't oppose his view.
"Okay. Let's do that."
Whatever decision he made, she'd follow. She'd resolved that long ago.
The Soo-hyuk she'd reunited with had said his comrades died because of him, but Ye-ryeong thought differently.
If not for him that day, everyone really would have died.
This extra life they'd been granted anyway—however it was spent, if it was his call, she'd gladly go along.
"Which way? Black or white?"
"Your gut?"
"Me? Always been a fan of the dark stuff."
Ye-ryeong chose the black door.
Soo-hyuk nodded and headed toward it. Watching his back, Ye-ryeong felt he was still looking out for her.
Without a word, he'd stepped ahead before she could volunteer— to check inside the door first himself.
Creeeak...
As Soo-hyuk approached, the black door swung open on its own, as if welcoming him.
Soo-hyuk wasn't surprised.
He wouldn't have flinched even if monsters had leaped out as the door opened.
Stepping forward, Soo-hyuk entered the black door.
And in that instant.
Bam!
"Huh?"
Before she could react, the black door slammed shut at blinding speed.
Clunk.
She tried the handle, stabbed with a dagger, even slashed at it—but the door wouldn't budge.
"...What?"
Ye-ryeong's gaze shifted to the white door.
The white door, wide open for some time now, seemed to whisper.
They were meant to enter separately from the start.
The moment he entered the black door, Soo-hyuk realized the one behind him had closed. He'd been separated from Ye-ryeong against his will.
'So it ended up like this.'
There was no need to panic. He'd thought going separately might be the better choice anyway.
He knew Ye-ryeong would be fine. Worrying about her was needless meddling.
Shaking off his concern for her, Soo-hyuk surveyed his surroundings.
Pitch black. But not without light.
Lifting his gaze to the sky, a Milky Way stretched across the night.
Stars shining beautifully, as if ready to pour down. He hadn't expected such a romantic space beyond the grim black door.
Soo-hyuk didn't search for anything there.
No need.
Pat pat pat...
It was already there, setting a small table before him and pouring drinks.
"Care for a glass?"
A familiar face.
From his nearest past—a friend who had died, branded into Soo-hyuk's memory like a stigma.
Hwang Gyu-seong lifted a large glass with his massive hand and offered it to Soo-hyuk.
Upon entering the Black Tower, Hailz showed no interest in anything else.
She wandered the tower as if on a picnic. The black mages grew irritated by her sudden whims, but none dared step forward.
Their opponent was an archmage, and their leader, Mercian, said nothing.
Occasionally, Hailz poked at the black mages' sensitive spots.
"This scroll contains forbidden magic from Runeterra."
Without even unrolling it, Hailz discerned the spell within.
Coming from an archmage, the black mages couldn't refute.
"You see it too, right, Tower Lord?"
Even on this formal occasion, she refrained from calling her "auntie."
Neila struggled to suppress her rising annoyance at Hailz's words.
"Dale, chief mage."
"Understood."
The Red Tower mages she'd brought along moved.
They collected all the dangerous scrolls the Black Tower had hidden, as if conducting an inspection.
Finally, one black mage snapped and stepped forward.
"Do you know where you are, to dare—!"
In that instant.
Rip!
"...!"
The face of the shouting black mage peeled off and fell to the floor.
He didn't scream. Pain tore his throat open instinctively, but he endured.
Because the one who'd ripped off his own face was Mercian.
"Know your place before you act out. Next time, it'll be your neck."
"S-sor... ry..."
Blood dripping from his face, the black mage collapsed to the floor. At Mercian's glance, his comrades dragged away the unconscious man.
Then, another black mage transmitted a voice to Mercian.
-Do you plan to just stand by and watch like this?
This time, Mercian couldn't rip off his face instantly.
He was the second-highest in the Black Tower after Mercian—the old mage who would have been Tower Lord without him.
Mercian turned to the elder standing right behind him and replied mentally.
-Why? Is there a problem?
-Isn't the Black Tower's pride being trampled right now?
-My pride isn't that fragile to be chipped by something like this.
An implication that your pride was that soft. The elder naturally bowed his head and stepped back.
That was when it happened.
-Tower Lord.
Another voice echoed in Mercian's mind.
-There's a problem in the basement.
-A problem?
-Blasian has been defeated. It seems the guests you brought caused it.
Mercian didn't flinch. He stood motionless behind Hailz.
However.
"Looks like there's trouble in the basement?"
Hailz had overheard it too.
Mercian's eyes gleamed.
Eavesdropping on magical telepathy? Not an easy feat. Even for Hailz, she couldn't unconsciously catch such faint whispers.
It meant she'd been consciously listening all along.
What was she after, wandering the Black Tower? She'd been drawing his and the others' attention for this very moment.
To obtain the information she wanted, staying alert to Mercian and the black mages' conversations.
"You have a habit of eavesdropping."
"Sorry. They were speaking so loudly."
Hailz said this while glancing at the black mage at the rear. He flinched and bowed his head under her gaze.
He was the one who'd just joined to report the basement situation. Not only had Hailz overheard, she'd identified who it was.
"Something in the basement, huh?"
Hailz set down the scroll in her hand. She'd never cared for such cheap scrolls anyway.
"Nothing at all."
"We'll know once we check."
Hailz was undeterred. She brushed past Mercian toward the stairs leading down.
At that moment, Mercian and Neila's eyes met. They nodded in unison.
Finally, the archmage was heading to the basement.
Beneath the Milky Way poised to cascade down, Gyu-seong waited with glasses prepared.
An unfamiliar yet familiar sight. Soo-hyuk had imagined such a moment might come someday.
Someday after his death, if there was an afterlife.
He'd meet Gyu-seong there, sharing a drink like this.
"Not drinking?"
With no response from Soo-hyuk, Gyu-seong downed the glass he'd offered.
Did he know?
Inside the black mage's magic circle, Soo-hyuk pondered whether to sever the neck of the Gyu-seong before him.
Like the ferryman whose head had been cut off earlier. Like the princess who had turned into a monster.
As he hesitated, gulp—Gyu-seong emptied his glass with a refreshing sound. He refilled it. Downing liquor without snacks was something else.
Soo-hyuk watched him briefly, then walked to the table and sat across from him.
There were two glasses. Soo-hyuk held out his empty one.
"Pour me one?"
Gyu-seong laughed heartily as Soo-hyuk nodded. He filled Soo-hyuk's glass to the brim, nearly overflowing.
It wasn't liquor he drank often, but he had no qualms. Downing it in one go, he felt the burn of potent alcohol.
Soo-hyuk held out his glass again.
Gyu-seong's eyes widened in surprise. The reaction was so lifelike, it was hard to believe it was fake.
"Another?"
"It's been a while. Let's go all out."
Soo-hyuk spoke as if the one before him were the real Gyu-seong.
"Let's see who wins. Cheers."