Chapter 30. Autumn Rain is Blood (3)
Chapter 30. Autumn Rain is Blood (3)
3
[A 12th-floor quest has been issued.]
The moment that voice rang out, something poured against the windows.
Pat. Pat.
Raindrops.
Raindrops struck the ornate windows of the audience chamber and slid down. For a moment, our gazes were stolen by the rainwater streaking the glass. It wasn't the sudden downpour that startled us. What unsettled us, even slightly, was something else.
"Oh, ohhh..."
"A nightmare... the nightmare rain falls again!"
The color of the rainwater.
The rain streaming down the windows was red as blood. No—perhaps it truly was blood. The NPCs in the audience chamber with us, military officers and civil officials alike, clutched their heads and began to groan.
"O Goddess, do not abandon us!"
"Wh-what the hell? Why are they suddenly acting like this...?"
Viper, exhausted from fighting the Sword Saint, looked around with difficulty.
"The Demon King..."
An NPC clad in armor muttered. He lay prostrate on the audience chamber floor, shoulders trembling. As if the trembling were contagious, groans leaked out from all around.
"The empire is finished now..."
"The Demon King descends..."
"His Majesty... where has our lord gone...?"
There was not a single NPC whose face was not darkened. Despair, resignation, lamentation. Their expressions were no different from real humans.
Viper swallowed dryly.
"Th-these bastards are ridiculous. Hey, this is all staged, right? What the hell is going on now?"
"The quest has begun."
I spoke quietly.
"Even if we stay still, it doesn't seem like we'll keep fighting each other. If they can't incite more infighting, they have no choice but to attack directly."
"Attack? Who?"
"Who do you think?"
I glared out the window.
"The one who offered us this kind of reward to provoke infighting in the first place."
Laughter flowed through my mind.
[Demon King of Fall Rain affirms your words.]
Whoooosh!
The rain grew heavier. The sound of rain, cautious at first as if knocking on the window, turned clamorous in an instant. Tens of drops, hundreds of drops, thousands of red beads battered the window.
"..."
I walked toward the window. I couldn't see outside from here. The rain had grown so fierce that the entire pane was dyed crimson. I struck the glass with the pommel of my sword and shattered it.
Crash!
Bright red raindrops poured into the audience chamber. At last, I could properly see outside. The heart of the palace. Beyond the audience chamber sprawled the imperial palace. Beyond the palace, the city. Beyond the city, the massive walls.
[Demon King of Fall Rain manifests.]
Beyond the walls, it stood.
-Pitiful creatures.
It parted its lips slightly and whispered.
Yes. It was a whisper.
With only a whisper, its voice crossed the barrier, crossed the countless walls of the imperial palace, and finally flowed through the broken window.
-You summon humans from another world and seat them among your leadership, as if they could ever serve as your shield. You call them heroes, but do you truly believe they will be heroes for you?
The rain fell endlessly.
-Go on, call them. Call as many as you please. What reason have you not to call? Summon thousands of heroes and tens of thousands of knights. They too are nothing more than humans like yourselves. Your foolishness knows no end, and it is pitiful.
The voice resounded through the endless downpour. It echoed off the city walls. It echoed off the palace walls. It echoed off the walls of the audience chamber. It laughed. A great laugh. The laughter echoed and echoed again, rattling my skull.
"Ugh, aah..."
The NPCs pressed their heads even lower. They clawed at their skulls as if in pain.
We hunters were better off, at least. Unlike the NPCs, we were hearing the Demon King's laughter for the first time. It was bearable. If we had to listen to that laughter all year round, it would be a completely different story.
-You who do not see humans as humans.
That was when it happened.
The map only I could see. The minimap. On the map illuminated by the blessing of the War God, red dots began to appear. One. Two. Three. The red dots that began to mark the minimap slowly multiplied in an instant at some point.
Hundreds.
Thousands.
Tens of thousands.
Soon, everything beyond the horizon was painted red.
-Be devoured by your own malice.
Lightning struck.
Heaven and earth turned pale for an instant, and everything between them was laid bare.
All the red dots on the map were monsters.
"..."
"..."
The hunters fell silent. A monster legion incomparable to the Floor 11 stage. A countless host was approaching from beyond the horizon.
-Krrrr.
-Kek, kek!
The monsters howled. They bared their teeth. They twisted their necks. Raindrops slid down the goblins' twisted faces. To those things, the bloody rain seemed to be holy water. Like knights marching to a great holy war, the monsters gazed up at the sky and worshipped the red rain.
"...I told you."
I gripped the pommel of my sword.
"Right now is not the time for us to fight each other."
And then letters spread out before my eyes.
+
[Imperial Capital Defense Battle]
Difficulty: A~SSS
Mission Objective: Heroes! You bravely fought against the Demon King's army and defended the supply route. Sensing the crisis, the Demon King has personally taken the field. The Demon King can summon monster legions anytime, anywhere. The Demon King's target is the heart of the Aegim Empire. The imperial capital, Hakamnia.
Fortunately, the Demon King's power has been weakened from manifesting so far away.
Stop the Demon King!
※However, if you are defeated in battle, Floor 13 will not open.
+
Silence hung for a moment.
"...Weakened?"
Viper muttered absently.
"That thing?"
It was a statement that spoke for everyone's feelings.
"This is... unreasonable. How are we supposed to clear this? This quest wasn't made to be cleared in the first place. Even if Floors 1 through 10 were a tutorial... the difficulty is just too different. This is insane."
"That's enough. Let's stay calm."
I turned my back and looked at the audience chamber.
The hunters were there. Behind the hunters, the NPCs were despairing.
"We can do this. The Tower doesn't issue quests that can't be cleared."
"But how are we supposed to defeat that many monsters...?"
"That's exactly why I'm telling you to stay calm."
I pointed at the NPCs.
"We're not just hunters here. You chose this yourself and forgot? Viper, you are the [Captain of the Aegim Empire's Royal Guard]. If you're the Royal Guard Captain, you should lead the Royal Guard."
"..."
"We can't clear this stage with just us hunters."
Right.
"Persuade the NPCs. Get them on their feet. Command them. Treat the NPCs like real people and lead them to the battlefield by any means necessary."
That was how we had cleared the Floor 11 stage too.
"We must not fight each other. Sword Saint, you are the empire's Knight Commander. The Knight Commander and the Royal Guard Captain crossing swords with each other? How could a country like that properly repel an invasion?"
"..."
"Did you think receiving the Knight Commander's reward was a gain? It is a gain. But if you take the rights, you must also bear the duties. Whether we like it or not, we've inherited the empire's leadership [roles], and now it's time to play our parts."
I turned my gaze to Paladin.
Paladin was looking at me with a serious expression.
"Minister of Foreign Affairs."
"Mm."
"This is the audience chamber, but the emperor is nowhere to be seen. The emperor must be somewhere in the palace. Take the Foreign Ministry's civil official NPCs and find the emperor. Without a leader, the NPCs won't follow properly."
Paladin nodded.
"Understood."
"Grand General."
I turned to the Heretic Questioner. The Heretic Questioner was smiling brightly despite having lost his right arm. If anything, he was watching me with a face full of excitement.
"Yes! Grand General, that would be me!"
"I absolutely despise hunters like you. I truly hate you. Watching what you did earlier, I felt that someday I'd have to settle things with you. But right now, I can't afford to lose someone who's a Grand General."
"Ahaha. I, on the other hand, am growing fonder and fonder of Hunter Kim Gong-ja!"
"You said you'd entrust me with full authority, so shut up and listen to me."
I spoke while examining the map.
There wasn't much time. The red wave was approaching the capital.
"There will be many soldiers on the walls. With monsters surging toward them like a tidal wave, there's no way their mental state is fine. You're the Grand General, so climb the walls yourself and steady the soldiers."
"Mm! Noblesse oblige!"
"Hold the walls no matter what. If the walls fall, this stage is over."
"Don't worry."
The Heretic Questioner smiled.
"I have never broken a promise in my entire life. I will stake my life on it!"
"Okay."
I looked around at the assembly.
"Then I'll go on ahead."
It was time for war.
4
Fwoosh! Fwip!
Once I left the imperial palace, the remaining hunters were being summoned one after another as late arrivals.
"Whoa. Where is this place?"
"At least it's not a grimy port."
Like tourists on a sightseeing trip, the hunters looked around the capital's streets.
"Ugh, acid rain? What's with the color of this rainwater..."
"Get under the roof! Hurry!"
"Hey, it says to choose a role as a reward?"
"Role? What's a role?"
The late arrivals had no grasp of the situation at all. Perhaps because they had arrived later than us.
'Well, even the top rankers who reached Floor 12 first were suspicious of each other and fought.'
They had even killed three people just on suspicion. How much worse would the late arrivals be? I couldn't expect much from hunters who had just entered a new stage.
'Right now, there's no time to persuade the hunters.'
Because even at this very moment, the Demon King's legion was approaching.
'First, hold off the attack with the NPCs!'
I ignored the hunters and ran through the streets. The roads were horribly congested. But fortunately, I had the minimap. I steadily followed the shortest route to the walls.
"Kim Gong-ja."
It was just as I was leaving the imperial palace. Someone appeared beside me.
"Witch?"
"Call me Black Dragon Master (黑龍主). I don't particularly like my alias."
The Witch. The rank 2 hunter had appeared out of nowhere and was running alongside me. Had she imbued her steps with aura? The Witch ran through the streets as if gliding.
"How did you suddenly appear here?"
"...It's my skill. Instant teleportation. I can move anywhere within my line of sight."
It was a completely broken skill.
-Hey, zombie. Die to her once! Instant teleportation is such a jackpot! I don't care about anyone else, but if it's dying to her, I'll allow it. Hurry up and die!
Ignoring the guardian spirit's words, I asked.
"Then why aren't you going to the walls first? What are you doing?"
"I came to pick you up. Obviously."
The Witch replied expressionlessly. Even while running, she showed no sign of fatigue.
"I saw it on Floor 11. You have a sword that works on the NPCs here, don't you? I don't know what sword it is, but with it, you can raise the NPCs' morale. Right now, the person the soldiers on the walls need isn't me. It's you."
The Witch looked at me.
"Consent."
"Excuse me?"
"Clearly consent, in words, to teleport with me. Otherwise, I can't move you. It's a restriction of my skill."
I was a little taken aback.
"Wait. If it's instant teleportation, it must be at least an S-rank skill. Is it okay for you to tell me all this, even the restrictions? It's your trump card."
"What a strange thing to say."
The Witch wiped her forehead. Red raindrops fell endlessly above us. Her hair clung to her pale forehead from the rain.
The Witch's black eyes looked at me.
"According to you, I'm this empire's chancellor. Isn't it natural for a chancellor to play her trump card to protect her own country?"
"..."
"There's no time. I don't care if it's half-hearted, so hurry up and consent."
I nodded.
"I consent to the use of Black Dragon Master's skill."
That was the moment. The Witch reached out her left hand and grabbed my right hand. Squeeze. Her rain-soaked hand wrapped around mine. As if refusing to slip in the rain, her long fingers interlaced with mine.
"Huh?"
"...There's one more restriction."
The Witch whispered, still holding my hand.
"Teleport."
Fwoosh!
In the blink of an eye, we arrived atop the walls.
As expected, the walls were in chaos. Even with a monster legion surging toward them, the empire's soldiers weren't responding. No—they couldn't respond. The soldiers hid behind the battlements, trembling or praying to their god.
"It's over..."
"O God, have mercy and look upon our wretchedness..."
"Hic, hi... huff..."
NPCs. Yet people no different from living humans.
Even if they were like illusions, the fear they felt was no illusion. Even the expressions of despair on their faces were not false.
"Black Dragon Master, thank you for bringing me here. From here on, I'll..."
"Wait."
The Witch sighed.
"I can't show my junior such a pathetic sight and then get chased off."
"What?"
"I didn't become a guild master by sitting still, you know."
The Witch took a deep breath.
And opened her lips.
"...Soldiers of the Aegim Empire!"
Black aura flowed from the Witch's body.
The black was a shade deeper than the red.
"Rise! What are you doing, climbing the walls? Do you believe these walls of stone will protect you on their own? Do you not know that the true wall protecting our empire is not stone, but only you—the soldiers of the empire!"
The soldiers cowering behind the battlements raised their heads one by one.
"The Chancellor...?"
"It's the Chancellor."
Murmur, murmur.
To the soldiers, the Witch appeared as their chancellor. One person recognized the chancellor, and the words he uttered spread through the rain in an instant.
The Witch nodded.
"Rise! I command you to rise. Someday the walls may crumble and our homeland may be destroyed. But as long as you stand, the empire—our Aegim Empire—will not fall! Because you are the empire!"
She was completely different from her usual self.
"Rise!"
The Witch was impassioned. Not a trace of her cold, expressionless face remained. With a furious expression, she looked down at the walls, and whenever her gaze swept over the soldiers, they were drawn to her eyes as if caught in a net.
"Rise, soldiers of the empire! The last wall of Aegim! Warriors who are the empire itself! Grip your spears! Take up your swords! Until there is nothing left to hold, until there are no hands left to hold spear or blade! For the empire, for yourselves—rise!"
The Witch clenched her hand.
My hand.
"God protects us!"
The Witch raised my right hand high.
I realized what I had to do now.
Shing!
The holy sword slid from its scabbard.
I gripped the pommel and raised it high. The wall, drenched in red downpour. At its center, the holy sword's blade shone brilliantly. The white light pierced through the rain and illuminated the soldiers' faces.
"The Founder's sword..."
"It's the holy sword. The holy sword witnessed by the Goddess!"
And then.
[Goddess of Protection expresses her gratitude for your choice.]
[Goddess of Protection wrings out her final Authority.]
There was light.