Chapter 59. An Expedition Without Dreams or Hope (1)
Chapter 59. An Expedition Without Dreams or Hope (1)
1
The restroom in the Great Library.
"Okay."
After washing my face at the sink, I said,
"Before we go to the murim... let's die once and start from there."
Silence settled around me. There was no one else in the restroom. But there was one ghost and one sword, and they reacted to my words.
-What do you mean, okay?
[Sparkle does not understand your intent.]
The guardian spirit blinked, and the holy sword flickered its light.
"Lefanta Aegim. The first emperor of the empire, the bastard who turned the Goddess of Protection into Sparkle."
[Sparkle points out that the person who named Sparkle 'Sparkle' was you.......]
"I don't know what kind of bastard he is, but it means he can travel between worlds."
I put on my coat. It was the tailored suit the Witch had given me ahead of the press conference. Looking at myself in the mirror, I looked exactly like a new employee ready for his first day of work.
That appearance oddly gave me a sense of psychological stability.
"Think about it. Sparkle was in the world of the Aegim Empire, right? But the other piece is in the world of the murim. That means Lefanta Aegim has the [ability to cross worlds]."
-Ho-oh.
"He's probably some overpowered protagonist type."
I ran my hand over the hilt of the holy sword at my waist.
"He's competent enough to found an empire, and strong enough to split apart and seal a Constellation. He even has the ability to cross into other worlds. Charging blindly into the murim just to find the holy sword fragments isn't the smart move."
I needed to be a bit more cautious.
"I'm not invincible, after all."
That's right.
Actually, lately... I'd been feeling tense.
Should I call it tension about myself?
I was worried that the moment I let my guard down even a little, my 'confidence' would discolor into 'arrogance.'
"I've climbed to rank 3 among hunters, taken down a Demon King almost single-handedly, and everyone in the city talks about nothing but me. Now I'm even giving orders to hunters with epithets."
-So what?
"If I'm not careful, I feel like I'm going to get complacent."
The Tower has 100 floors.
Right now, I'm just a hunter who's only reached the 21st floor.
It's too early to relax just because I'm succeeding now.
'Even that Flame Emperor got hunted down by me because he let his guard down.'
It was because he had a skill that kept him from dying, the [Regressor's Clockwork Watch]. A broken skill that seemed to have no counter no matter how you looked at it. But what ultimately happened to Flame Emperor Yoo Soo-ha, who had such a broken ability?
'He died.'
And after he died, he even did a grand Cossack dance in front of the world's armies.
He was a perfect example that no matter how strong a hunter is, they must never let their guard down.
-No, that was zombie you being a demonic little shit.......
"Anyway, I'm not going to jump into the [Chronicles of the Heavenly Demon] without making any plans. I need to know what kind of bastard Lefanta Aegim is before I go. Right now, I have absolutely no information."
Forewarned is forearmed.
Why was a holy sword fragment in some unrelated murim world instead of the world of the Aegim continent? What had that overpowered protagonist Lefanta Aegim been thinking when he shattered the [Goddess of Protection] and scattered the pieces?
I want to enter the stage after obtaining at least the minimum amount of information.
-Well, the mindset of tapping a stone bridge before crossing isn't bad.
The guardian spirit tilted his head.
-But exactly what are you trying to prepare, and how? Like you said, we know nothing about that Lefanta or whatever his name is. And there's no way to find out, either.
"You're right that we know nothing. But......."
I tapped the holy sword with my finger.
"You're wrong that there's no way to find out."
-What?
"This sword may look like this, but it's the [Goddess of Protection]. It's been split into five pieces, but it's still a Constellation."
I grinned.
"Here's the question. If I stab myself with this sword, is that suicide? Or is it murder by a Constellation?"
The guardian spirit's eyes went wide.
It was a face that said it had never even considered the thought.
-Huh? Huhh?
"It could be suicide, or it could be murder. Let's say the odds are fifty-fifty. I still don't know which it is, but... it's worth testing."
Shing.
I drew the holy sword from its sheath. Then a frantic voice rang out.
[Sparkle earnestly requests that the Hero reconsider once more.]
"Why?"
[Sparkle strongly demands that you protect her privacy, saying it is embarrassing for her past to be shown to another person.]
I raised the corner of my mouth.
"Come on, what's privacy between us? I broadcast my private life live 24 hours a day. We should be fair."
[Sparkle begs you, saying please, no.......]
Shunk!
The holy sword pierced through my body.
The next moment, I was certain that I had won the fifty-fifty gamble.
[You have died.]
[Skill conditions are met through death.]
[The Goddess of Protection's skill is currently sealed and cannot be acquired.]
It was a little disappointing that I couldn't copy the skill.
But what I was trying to obtain right now wasn't a skill.
[Your current hunter rank is D-grade.]
[A penalty from the skill is being applied.]
[Reproducing the trauma of the enemy who killed you.]
[Penalty depth: Medium. Hungry Ghost Realm (餓鬼道).]
Whoosh!
The scene I had been hoping for unfolded before my eyes.
* * *
-You have finally finished your long journey.
A beautiful voice spoke.
-I knew you could do it, Hero.
It was a woman I had never seen before. But somehow, I immediately realized who she was.
The [Goddess of Protection], unsealed from the blade.
A Constellation in full command of her power.
-Yeah.
The man called the Hero answered.
A silver-haired nobleman. Lefanta Aegim, the first emperor of the empire, sat upon a plain throne. With his chin resting on his hand, a hint of fatigue was visible on his face.
'So that bastard is Lefanta Aegim.'
The man spoke.
-It feels like just the other day I was flustered by being suddenly summoned, and before I knew it, I'd become the emperor who unified the continent. You never know how things in this world will turn out.
-Hehe. It feels new to me, too. At first, you were truly an ordinary person who knew nothing. Now you are stronger than me. No, most spirits wouldn't even be a match for you.......
That was when it happened.
-Huh? What the.
The guardian spirit, who had been watching the trauma scene with me, made a noise.
-Where have I seen that bastard before?
'What?'
-The silver-haired guy. No matter how I look at him, that's the Constellation Killer.
The guardian spirit spoke as if he found this strange.
I was startled by the fact that the guardian spirit and Lefanta Aegim were acquainted.
'What's the Constellation Killer?'
-It's that bastard's epithet. He got that name because he's a crazy son of a bitch who goes around hunting down Constellations and beating the shit out of them.
He beats up Constellations?
-You saw it, didn't you? The Tower is connected to worlds. From the 50th floor onward, you have to compete with hunters from other worlds.
'Oh, really?'
-Yeah. And that [Constellation Killer] is like a 50th-floor shut-in.
The guardian spirit said.
-He absolutely refuses to climb the Tower when he's supposed to, holes up on the 50th floor all the time, and whenever a Constellation drops by, he immediately beats the crap out of them. There are probably at least hundreds of Constellations who've died at his hands.
'...So Lefanta Aegim is a hunter too?'
-Yep. I wondered what kind of world could spawn a lunatic like that, and damn. He was from Aegim.
The guardian spirit muttered.
-To think I'd run into an old connection in a place like this. Huh.
'Uh, what kind of relationship did you two have......?'
-What kind of relationship? We had a proper brawl once. He was strong, but not strong enough to match me.
Even while we were chattering, the trauma scene continued to flow.
The Goddess of Protection spoke.
-What do you plan to do now, Hero? There are no more spirits or evil spirits to block your path. Your long journey is now.......
-Constellation.
-Pardon?
-Not spirits, not evil spirits. Constellation.
Lefanta Aegim rose from the throne.
-The world belongs not to Constellations, but to humans.
Lefanta Aegim turned to look at the goddess.
Dark-red aura blazed from the emperor's body.
-...Hero? Why are you suddenly using aura.......
With a face haggard from fatigue, the First Emperor of the empire seemed to be deliberating.
It didn't last long.
-I won't kill you. Still, you have helped me all this time.
The red aura surged over the goddess.
-I will split your existence apart and seal it. Then you will never be able to regain your power. And once the Constellations are gone.......
The rest of his words were buried under a tearing scream and could not be heard.
In reality, the goddess's existence was being torn apart.
-I'm sorry.
Lefanta Aegim said.
-But this is the right path.
With the goddess's scream as the finale, the trauma rapidly receded from us.
[Trauma reenactment complete.]
[Confirmed that the subject's ego has been maintained.]
[Ending penalty.]
* * *
"...What the hell is this guy?"
After returning to one day earlier.
I holed up in the restroom again and muttered.
"I thought if I peeked into his past through the trauma, I'd get some idea of what kind of bastard he is... but even after seeing it, I still don't know. Hey, Sparkle. Why did your old master seal you?"
[Sparkle answers dejectedly that she doesn't really know either.]
The holy sword gave off a faint light.
Was it just my imagination?
The holy sword's light seemed unusually drained of energy.
[Sparkle laments that the Lefanta Aegim she remembers was a taciturn but righteous hero. She says she has no idea why he sealed her, or why he turned his back on the empire he himself founded and left.]
The mystery only deepened.
-I told you. The higher the level of a hunter, the crazier the bastard.
The guardian spirit shrugged.
-Don't try to understand crazy bastards. If you gaze into the abyss, the abyss gazes into you. Just get strong like me, and then beat the shit out of every bastard you don't like, Constellation Killer or whatever!
I sighed.
"Well. At least learning his face is a gain."
And one fact had become certain.
Lefanta Aegim, also known as the [Constellation Killer], would become hostile the moment he saw me.
Because I was carrying around a fragment of the Goddess of Protection that he had sealed away.
"Hmm."
I narrowed my brow as I looked into the mirror.
"If I'm going to meet him on the 50th floor anyway, I'd like to prepare in advance before then......."
-Give it up. With your current skills, you don't stand a chance! He may be weaker than me, but that bastard is a master among masters. And if you have time to worry about the 50th floor already, go clear the 22nd floor, you weakling!
"Ahem."
Since he wasn't wrong, I obediently spent the same day all over again.
The next day, after the hunters finished reading the Apocalypse, they chose the '22nd floor.' Partly because none other than the Sword Saint had recommended it, the [Chronicles of the Heavenly Demon] was selected without difficulty.
"Ho-oh? You've chosen wuxia as your first genre."
The Librarian watched our choice and smiled meaningfully.
"Not a bad choice! Although it may not be exactly the same as the murim you know, the fact that there is martial arts and a jianghu is the same. Depending on how you steer the story, you may even obtain a fortuitous encounter. A martial art worth its weight in gold... in your terms, you may even acquire a 'skill.'"
Ooh, the hunters buzzed with excitement.
Into that heated atmosphere, the Librarian immediately threw cold water.
"However, all things are high risk, high return! The characters who appear as 'enemies' are equally strong. Naturally, if you enter the Apocalypse and lose your lives, you will truly die. Of course, it is also impossible to escape from the Apocalypse before properly finishing the 'ending'!"
The hunters closed their mouths.
That was only natural. Unless you had an unusual skill like mine, death always carried enough weight to make people sober up.
"The participant limit for the [Chronicles of the Heavenly Demon] is 2 to 4 people. Now then! Who will become a character in this Apocalypse?"
The hunters' gazes naturally turned toward the top-ranked hunters.
Among them, the person who drew the most attention was me. The reason was simple. Over the past few days, I had been commanding and directing the hunters as if I were their representative.
Authority naturally comes with responsibility.
"I'll do it."
And I had absolutely no intention of running from responsibility.
At my quick answer, the guild masters smiled with satisfaction as if to say, 'We knew it,' while the majority of hunters stared at me with surprise in their eyes.
"I'll step up as well."
The Sword Saint spoke up right after.
"The one who recommended this Apocalypse can't very well sit it out."
His expression was solemn, but there was a hint of a smile at the corner of his lips. It was obvious he was itching to go. As a reader who loved wuxia, wasn't he simply happy at the fact that he would get to enter a real murim?
"Splendid. The minimum number of participants has been met!"
The Librarian chuckled.
"You may bring two more people as characters....... What will you do?"
"As it happens, there is one more reason I recommended this Apocalypse."
The Sword Saint immediately spoke with confidence.
"Everyone, take a look at the reason for its cancellation."
+
[Chronicles of the Heavenly Demon]
Genre: Wuxia, Fusion
Difficulty: B-rank
Party Limit: 2-4 people
※The serialization is currently discontinued.
Introduction: The murim. A world of those who revere martial arts, use martial arts, and attain martial arts! Here, the Heavenly Demon appeared and sought to unify the murim. The Demonic Cult, united around the Heavenly Demon. The forces opposing the Demonic Cult. They clashed over the fate of the world... or would have.
If only a super plague hadn't suddenly swept through.
Reason for Cancellation: An unidentified plague ran rampant through the world, and the Heavenly Demon died. The Demonic Cult was annihilated. The other forces were also destroyed. The end.
+
No matter how many times I looked at it, the reason for the cancellation was absurd.
It didn't even say exactly what kind of plague it was.
The main text of the Apocalypse only said, [A sudden plague swept through, the Heavenly Demon died, and soon everyone else died as well].
I had no idea what specifically had happened.
'I'll only find out once I actually enter this world.'
In any case, it was clear that the murim was destroyed by an unidentified plague.
The Sword Saint nodded.
"As you can see, what destroyed this world was a plague. Naturally, we should bring not only a strong hunter but also a hunter well-versed in disease. And I happen to know one person who is the most knowledgeable about disease."
The Sword Saint smiled and called out one person from his own wuxia group.
"Medicine King, will you join us?"
A stiff-looking old man walked out with his hands clasped behind his back.
Once again, the Sword Emperor pretended to know him.
-Ah! That old guy!
'Why? Who is he?'
-Why, you know that shop. The one I tried to take zombie you to at the beginning. He's the owner of the medicine shop old man Marcus frequents.
Ah, I see.
-That old guy does make good medicine. But, hmm... he makes good medicine, but.......
The Sword Emperor trailed off.
No one knew the reason better than I did.
"Don't worry. I'll do most of the fighting, and if I'm not enough, the Death King will help. And once this [Medicine King] resolves the disease problem, this Apocalypse will be handled by just the three of us... Death King, do you have something to say?"
The Sword Saint, who had been speaking confidently, looked at me with puzzlement as I raised my hand.
"Ah, yes. There's one person I'd like to come with us."
I lowered my raised hand and pointed at one hunter.
The hunter who was suddenly singled out gaped.
"Huh? M-me......?"
It was none other than the Pharmacist.
I nodded.
"Yes, that's right."
The Pharmacist trembled as if struck by lightning while walking down the street.
"D-Death King... I haven't even had my epithet for a week yet. I-I'm incredibly weak! Taking someone like me along would be completely useless, so why......."
"Among the people I know, Pharmacist, you're the most capable pharmacist and doctor."
"Pardon? Y-yes......?"
"And you said it earlier."
'Death King, if you need anything, please tell me!'
'I'll help you with anything I can do!'
I smiled gently.
"If those weren't empty words, you'll help me, won't you, Pharmacist?"
"......."
The Pharmacist despaired with the eyes of someone looking at a demon.
Why? Didn't he get his epithet thanks to me?
If someone carried you, you paid for the carry.