Chapter 367: Cult of Specters (4)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 367: Cult of Specters (4)
White skin, black horns.
His appearance, resembling a mischievous child, was striking.
A demon.
Judging by the length of his horns, he was a high-ranking noble.
"Hehe, what a rare sight to see everyone gathered here like this."
"How dare a mere demon set foot in this place!"
Athena immediately aimed her spear and shield.
White mana spun furiously, as if ready to impale the enemy who had intruded upon their territory without warning.
"Stop."
However, with a single gesture from Zeus, her intent was thwarted.
"...Father?"
"For the Demon World to come all the way here... how intriguing. Tell me, what is your business?"
"It is an honor to be welcomed by the supreme god of Olympus. My name is Mashid. I am a demon serving the great Demon King Guntaper."
The young boy bowed deeply to show his respect.
A Demon King was an absolute being that even other deities could not afford to look down upon.
And for his messenger to seek them out here...
The corners of Zeus's mouth curled up slightly.
"Speak. What is your reason for seeking an audience with us?"
"We would like to propose a formal alliance between Olympus and the Demon World."
"...?!"
An alliance.
The sheer weight of those unexpected words instantly froze the surrounding air.
Until now, cooperation among the giant factions of the upper floors had been utterly impossible due to their differing values and conflicting interests.
They had accepted it as their destiny to kill and be killed until only one remained standing.
In particular, the rule that a single faction had to collect all the crowns pushed everyone to the absolute limit.
Yet, the insidious Demon World was the first to propose an alliance.
"Hooh."
Zeus tapped his finger on the table.
"Are you interested?"
"First, I am curious about your reason for wanting to form an alliance."
"To be honest, we weren't interested in an alliance with Olympus either. However, since you waged war against Ragnarok, Eden has also begun to move in earnest. We had no choice but to respond."
In principle, Eden maintained neutrality toward all factions except the Demon World.
However, due to Olympus's territorial expansion and Kizakiel's rebellion, unusual movements had begun to be detected.
Eden had attacked the Demon World to restore its internal solidarity and balance the power among the factions.
"So you mean you need us to keep Eden in check."
"Isn't it a decent proposal? After all, Lord Zeus, you are currently unable to use one of your strongest cards because you are keeping an eye on Eden."
"..."
Not being able to bring Heracles to the battlefield was indeed a painful blow.
If only they had the strongest demigod, the final ruins of Jotunheim would have already fallen.
Despite seizing the northern region of Ragnarok, Olympus was dragged into a stalemate because they couldn't capture the most crucial stronghold—this was the harsh reality they faced.
However.
"It seems impossible to form an alliance based on that reason alone. We can handle Eden easily enough. Jotunheim, too, will fall if we just give it a little more time."
Zeus flatly rejected the Demon World's proposal.
The breakdown of negotiations.
This meant the immediate death of the messenger who had brought the proposal.
Zzzzt!
Zeus's signature holy spear, 'Astrape', unleashed an unimaginable brilliance.
If it was the strongest spear capable of piercing even a Demon King's battle spirit, a mere noble-grade demon would be reduced to a handful of ashes in an instant.
Yet, Mashid, who should have been trembling in fear or fleeing, simply stood his ground.
"Do you really think we proposed an alliance just because of Eden?"
At those words,
"..."
Zeus's hand froze.
Mashid took this as an invitation to continue.
"Hwanung and Izanagi met at 'Baengnokdam Crater Lake' early this morning."
Baengnokdam Crater Lake.
It was a holy land where a massive source of mana flowed, and at the same time, a meeting ground where hundreds of deities could gather.
"Laughable. Is the meeting of those two insects such a big deal?"
"It is not just the two of them. Hundreds of deities, with those two at the center, have gathered. Of course, they might seem lacking compared to Olympus's might, but it is undeniable that they will pose a significant burden."
The relatively weaker Asian deities were building a massive coalition.
Since they were outmatched in individual strength, they intended to make up for it in numbers.
The news of hundreds of deities gathering in secret was a surprise even to Zeus.
Furthermore, the problem did not end there.
"If things go on like this, it won't be long before the factions in the late 40s floors start moving as well. They will see this conflict as an opportunity. Especially those lizards who want to swallow up the entire floor—I heard they have even found their apostle this time."
The dragons occupying the 46th floor of the Tower.
Leaving aside the 49th floor, there was no guarantee that the 47th and 48th floors would remain quiet either.
"So this incident has become... the catalyst?"
"Exactly. A second war is about to break out, the first since the First Great War."
Variables piled upon variables, forming a fuse.
"So, shouldn't we form a reliable alliance to watch each other's backs?"
"...Go back and return with a Demon King. We shall discuss this further."
Zeus made his decision.
Over the hegemony of the Tower, the dark clouds of a massive war began to gather once more.
* * *
It took less than two hours for Jinhyuk to meet the master of the Thieves' Guild.
It was thanks to using the 'Human Skin Mask' to systematically contact the higher-ups.
"T-This is impossible..."
Obraim Venta.
Having grown old as the master of the Thieves' Guild for thirty years, he felt all his common sense crumbling away.
Jinhyuk, who had disguised his face as one of Venta's subordinates until just moments ago, was the definition of shock itself.
Only dragons were capable of 'Polymorph'.
Yet, there was no sense of incongruity, as if Venta were looking at a companion of thirty years.
The disguise was that perfect.
Jinhyuk tossed the heavily bearded face mask onto the floor.
"A pyramid-style cell organization might be good for maintaining secrecy... but it has this kind of blind spot. I'll be using your face like this soon, too."
Even if the master was taken down, the fact itself wouldn't spread.
The best part was that as long as he maintained the outer shell, he could order the entire guild around at will.
"Aaargh! You bastards!"
Naturally, Venta, who had been stripped of everything, wasn't about to stand idly by.
True to his status as a guild master, Venta drew a pair of daggers and moved in a dizzying blur.
It was a speed hard to capture with the naked eye.
However, Cheon Yu-seong, who was waiting on standby next to him, read Venta's movements perfectly.
Timing it to the exact moment Venta's feet touched the ground...
Slash!
Cheon Yu-seong's sword cleaved right through the trajectory of his movement.
"...Kugh...?"
With that, everything belonging to the Thieves' Guild fell perfectly into Jinhyuk's hands.
"What now?"
Cheon Yu-seong asked Jinhyuk, flicking the blood off his sword.
"We'll disrupt their information network and rescue Teresa in the meantime."
Now that they had taken over the Thieves' Guild, which possessed the best intelligence network, they didn't have to worry about the others interfering.
Except for one thing.
'It'll be hard to avoid crossing paths with Sloth.'
Although it took a long time, Sloth had the ability to track down any prey it once locked onto until the very end.
The duration of that special ability was roughly six hours.
It would end exactly around midnight.
'About three hours left, then...'
They had to hurry to reach the Gray Forest.
"Frey. Tell Master and Abraham where we're heading."
"Okay... I'll do that."
"Yu-seong. You're coming with me right now."
"Got it."
Everyone moved toward their assigned tasks.
* * *
The Gray Forest.
Due to its dense canopy, it was an area where sunlight barely penetrated.
"Damn it..."
Payden let out a deep sigh.
He had confidently declared they would conquer the 20th floor and came here, only for the raid team to be torn to shreds by the fanatics' attacks.
He didn't know where things had gone wrong.
In the beginning, stubbornly securing the entryways and bases had gone well.
Was it a mistake to force their way into the mine after all?
Or was their failure due to not recruiting stronger rankers?
'I knew it wouldn't be easy, but to think we'd get crushed even after gathering all this power.'
If the 20th floor was this tough, just how strong would the 30s floors be?
A sudden dread of the Tower of Trials washed over him.
But right now, crying over spilled milk wasn't the priority.
He had to figure out how to get out of here alive.
Payden looked around.
There were seventeen survivors in total.
Mostly the strongest members of the raid team, including Teresa, had survived.
'The only ones relatively fine are Teresa and me.'
The rest were depleted of mana and stamina, looking as though they could barely support their own weight.
Just then,
Teresa, who had been diligently tending to the wounded, approached him.
"...Yes. Speak."
"I've treated the most critical cases first. But my mana is running low, so I could only manage basic first aid."
"Good work. In that case, we must set off again."
Payden picked up his weapon.
Now that they had caught their breath, they needed to quickly pass through this forest and escape to the other side.
The insect-type monsters, thriving in the high humidity, were watching the raid team, waiting for any opportunity to strike.
"What? Leave? But the injured haven't recovered enough to move yet. We need to rest for at least a few more hours..."
Teresa flinched as she saw Payden's expression.
His coldly frozen face showed not a shred of sympathy for their comrades.
"Are you... planning to abandon all of them?"
"It means those who can survive must survive. Besides, to climb the Tower in the future, don't we need the outstanding, not the weak? For the future of humanity, of course."
The future of humanity?
Teresa clenched her fists.
Her nails dug into her palms, but she felt no pain.
"...Don't you just want to bury what happened here?"
He probably didn't want it getting out that the raid team's failure wasn't for humanity, but rather due to a single guild's greed to monopolize magic crystals.
Yes.
Payden simply wanted to evade all responsibility.
And for that to happen, all witnesses had to disappear.
"Think whatever you want. If you wish to stay behind, I won't stop you."
Without hesitation, Payden turned his back and vanished toward the opposite side of the forest.
Then,
"Kieee!"
"Keee!"
As if they had been waiting, the hidden insects began to reveal themselves one by one.
Now that their most troublesome prey had abandoned the rest on his own, the time had come to hunt in earnest.
"T-Teresa! The monsters are coming!"
"Where on earth is the raid leader?"
The abandoned raid members frantically looked for Teresa and Payden.
'I can't abandon these people.'
No matter how plausible the excuse, she had no intention of prolonging her life with the blood of her comrades.
Even if
the consequence of that choice was her own death.
[Unique Ability...]
Warm starlight descended from the sky.
The faint light, conjured by squeezing out her depleted mana, melted along Teresa's blonde hair.
[‘Blessing of the Stars’ has been activated!]
The Saintess drew her sword and shield.
Standing at the very front to shield everyone.