The Tower of Kidney Stones, Part 2
Meanwhile, the warden tasked with guarding the endless hell faced the greatest crisis of his life thanks to the intruder. Atop the watchtower perched on the rim of the pit and the crest of the wall stood an aged old man. His face, etched with unmistakable greed, twisted in fury as he glared at the dozens of octopus tentacles writhing up through the hole.
"What the hell—why?! How did you get in here?! The sealing barrier—?!"
"It's active, sir!"
"Then what the hell is that?!"
"Judging by the way the deployed preachers fled, it appears to be a curse… probably!"
"Probably?! That thing can't possibly be a curse!!!"
He was a corrupt official who had secured this post through connections. Managing imprisoned convicts was simple work, yet the position was prized as a cushy sinecure. He had sacrificed much to win the eunuch's favor, but the rewards had been greater still. With the once-fastidious Princess Sunho now fallen, he had believed no one would dare challenge him here…!
"What kind of dogshit is this?! This—this—WHAT THE HELL IS GOING OOOOOON?!"
Guuugugugugugugugung—!!!!
One massive tentacle swept outward and the outer wall crumbled, sweeping the soldiers stationed atop it away. The watchtower itself shuddered violently; it might collapse at any moment. When he peered out the window, he saw a tentacle that had burst from the ground coiling around the tower's base.
"W-Warden!"
"What are you shouting for?! Get out there and fight!"
"But the sealing barrier prevents us from using magic—! —Oh?! O-Oooooooooh!!!"
Whiriririk—! Crack!
"Huaaagh?!"
Before the man could finish, a tentacle burst through the window, wrapped around his subordinate's neck, and hurled him outside. From this height, the fall was fatal. The tentacles began probing the watchtower for their next prey, and the warden's survival instinct screamed.
I-I have no weapons! Nothing but the suppression baton! If I disable the barrier here, the prisoners below might escape… but what does that matter?! I only took this post because it was safe and profitable! If I die, none of that means anything!
His eyes rolled back. He lunged for the red button mounted in the corner of the tower and slammed his fist against it.
—Kaaang!
The moment the barrier enveloping the underground and the entire prison vanished, he seized the microphone.
『The barrier is down! Fry that damned octopus! Right now!!!』
"Warden!"
"He actually did it!"
"That bastard only cares about saving his own skin!"
"No—it's better this way! Now we can fight too!"
After issuing the order, the warden successfully repelled the tentacle clinging to the tower by smashing it with an ice-forged iron ball. The soldiers and jailers, seeing his action, fought desperately to survive without fully grasping the situation.
"Huaa—magic! Our mana is back!"
"Physical strikes aren't working! Cut them down!"
"Those without magical talent—bring oil and fire!!!"
Whoosh—!!!
Mages hurled blades of flame or anything flammable at the tentacles crawling up from the pit. Even in the chaos, no one abandoned their comrades; some quickly fashioned firebombs and flung them with surprising ingenuity.
"Fire works after all!"
"Yeah, it takes time, but oil and flame do the job!"
"More bottles and oil! And anything else that burns—bring it all! If your hands are free, head outside—huh?"
Thud.
His head fell.
"—Clever and well-liked, which is exactly why your back was wide open."
Amid the jailers who had been rallying to fight the tentacles, a girl in a fundoshi—Saki—appeared. The atmosphere froze; grown men turned pale.
"I knew there was an intruder!!!"
"Don't panic! Swing your batons—khh?!"
"Assassination is best done quietly amid confusion. Of course, if you kill every witness, it still counts as assassination."
"S-Spare—"
Swish!!
Three more heads fell at once, and the jailers preparing firebombs were wiped out in a single sweep. The tentacles thrashing outside provided perfect cover; Saki's figure remained unnoticed.
"Ugh, I stepped on a corpse. Those were my favorite clogs…"
The ground was already slick with bodies and blood. A single sweep of the tentacles treated like brooms turned those without magical talent into stains on the floor. Even those with talent were crushed indiscriminately by Roman's wild swings, their bodies sent flying like baseballs struck by a bat.
"What a magnificent sight… I thought I had some skill at killing, but the world is vast indeed. I must train harder every day so I don't become a frog in a well."
"What are you muttering about alone?! Die for your comrades—!!"
"—You die first."
A magical sword erupted from the pile of corpses and crossed with Saki's blade, birthing yet another neck. A human life, no matter how heavy it seemed, ended in an instant.
"If you wanted to stab me in the back, you should have kept your mouth shut. An amateur who can't even hide their excitement has no right to try. …Whoops!"
She dodged a tentacle aimed at her and calmly scanned for the next target. Panic. Pandemonium. Delicious necks walked about on two legs wherever she looked. Using the swirling dust as cover, she harvested several more. The jailers' quarters built into the wall had collapsed, offering convenient hiding spots after each kill. Saki felt like a child at a playground.
Harvesting heads always feels wonderful. With this, the Lord will surely praise me.
"Hik, hik—y-you there! I don't know who you are, but please spare—!"
—Swish!
Another jailer who had approached without realizing Saki was the enemy lost his head.
Heads come to me even when I stand still! Bonus time for performance~♪
She continued cutting, occasionally felling a tentacle that attacked without discrimination. Attacking its own master left her slightly saddened, but beheading it quickly restored her good mood.
"Huu… huu… I must have swung too much; the blade feels dull… ngh?!"
At that moment, a sharp, prickling sensation pierced her neck, followed by a familiar voice.
『Hey, finally got through. How's the surface?』
It was Roman, the architect of the chaos. Saki immediately relaxed, dropped to one knee, and answered reverently.
"My Lord! The sealing barrier has been cleanly removed! I've also racked up quite the achievement, so please praise me later!"
『Oh~? You must have killed quite a few. Does that mean I can poke my head out now?』
"Aah, that won't do. They're still resisting fiercely. Even the unarmed jailers are throwing firebombs. We might have to retreat."
『No wonder glass keeps falling from the sky. There's no place left to step near the elevator.』
"Reinforcements keep arriving from the outer garrison… Appearing so boldly is fine, but fighting them alone might be impossible, don't you think?"
『Sunho's soldiers are either imprisoned or still outside the border, right?』
"The ones under the eunuch's influence remain."
『Then wiping them out won't cause problems.』
"……Is that possible?"
『Of course. If we withdraw now, we'll only embolden the eunuchs. I can already picture them sneering that we tucked our tails and ran. Besides, we still have other prisons to raid; retreating would waste time and manpower. There's zero reason to pull back.』
"That's true, but physically it's impossible… ugh?!"
Dudududududududu!!!!!!
The ground shook again. Every jailer and soldier still fighting, including Saki, staggered. She thought Roman had summoned more tentacles, but the weight felt different. She asked through the link.
"What are you planning?!"
『The combat test is over. I'm about to wipe them all out—watch closely.』
"E-Everything was a test?!"
『I don't usually fight anyone directly. This was the perfect chance to gauge my own strength. I worried the tentacles might get sliced apart and reach the main body, but at this level…』
Dudududududu!!!!
Dudududududududu!!!!!
With the continuing tremors, an enormous tower burst from the narrow underground hole, declaring the space too cramped.
"Ueee…"
"What… is that…"
"Am I… dreaming right now?"
"This is real…"
Saki and the soldiers' jaws dropped simultaneously. Something beyond their common sense was unfolding.
My first original curse.
The Sacred Tower · Foramendeo.
The tentacles that had been sweeping the surface coalesced into a grotesque spiral tower. Eyes peered from between the gaps, and corpses dangled from the suckers—an abomination that should have been condemned as a public nuisance. When it began emitting pulsating yellow waves, everyone sensed danger yet could not move their feet.
"Now… what happens…?"
『You're connected to me through the link, so you're excluded from the target list.』
"That disgusting thing attacks?!"
『No.』
The instant Roman denied it—
「「「「「Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah!!!!!!!!!」」」」」
A chorus of wails erupted from every direction, drowning out the link.
"Hhehe?"
Ear-splitting screams. Pleas for mercy. When she boldly scanned the area, people of all kinds lay writhing on the ground.
"Ughigigigigik!! Ugihiiiiiiiiiiiiik!!!!"
"Ugok, gak, ga, aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa!! Agagagagagagak!!!"
"Neugihaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaak!!!!!"
"Y-Yo, go aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa~!!"
"It's tearing—draaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa!!!!!!!!"
Screams burst from every side. Men and women, young and old, clutched their groins and rolled in agony. Some tried to endure, but each time the waves touched them their faces turned blue and they collapsed in an endless hellish loop.
"Geugyaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa!!!!!!"
"Eieieieiaa~?!"
"—Eieieieieik!!!"
"Neugihiiiiiiiiiiiiik!!!!!"
"Stop, d-eooooook, aoong! Oooooooooook!!! Geuhooooooooot!!"
"Kkeugigigigigik!!! Geugigigigigigi?!?!"
Some slammed their foreheads against the ground in a desperate attempt to escape the pain, but it was futile. Others soiled themselves in panic; urine was the least of their concerns. Yet all shared the same instinctive action—clutching their groins—leaving even Saki tilting her head.
『How's the surface? I hear screaming… it worked, right?』
"Yes. Everyone is clutching their groins. But what exactly is happening?"
『My new curse, Foramendeo, is a tower that inflicts the curse of kidney stones on every enemy within a 100-meter radius. Those with magical talent might withstand the waves a few times, but the more they stack, the harder it becomes.』
"…1-100 meters! It's already a weapon of war!! And it even distinguishes between friend and foe?!"
『It may look that way, but it possesses a faint intelligence as a living being. As long as the orders aren't too complex, it follows them faithfully.』
"Hiee…"
The Sacred Tower · Foramendeo—commonly known as the Tower of Kidney Stones—shifted.
「「「「「Kkugagaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaak!!!!!!!」」」」」
Every time its wicked eyes locked onto an enemy, fresh screams erupted. Soldiers rushing in from outside halted at the sight of the tower, halted again when struck by the yellow waves, and on the third signal realizing their peril—
"O-O, neugiiiiiiiiiiiiik!!!"
"Ughik?! U-Ugok, gagagagak!! Ugaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaak!!!"
"Save—zueeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!!!!!!"
They clutched their groins and suffered the stacking kidney-stone curse.
「「「「「Gyaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa────!!!!!」」」」」
Filthy screams. Many rolled their eyes back; fighting was no longer possible.
"…The moment they recognized the tower, it was over."
『The effect weakens toward the outer edges, so the lucky ones might survive.』
"Why did you develop something like this?"
『Because I used to have to cast it one by one. While looking for a way to improve it, this happened. Now it doesn't matter if I can't move because of my own crotch.』
"It was developed purely for your own safety and comfort…"
『Yeah.』
"And in exchange, you created hell…"
Thud! Thud!
Soldiers squealed like pigs, eyes rolled back. No one could attack Saki even if she walked through the enemy lines.
"Haa… There's no point rampaging anymore. Situation terminated. I'll return underground as well."
『Really? For the next raid, how about traveling through the sewers, going under the prison, and planting the tower right there?』
"Summoning that thing underground would guarantee victory. Even among instant-kill moves, yours crosses the line."
『Right~? Hahaha!!』
Roman cackled like a third-rate villain. Yet when it came to curses, he was first-rate. Saki, having returned underground, gazed up at the towering structure and muttered under her breath.
I'm truly glad I'm not my Lord's enemy.
Better to have her rear violated and be raped than suffer that fate—Saki had no desire whatsoever to experience kidney stones.