The Annihilation of Moros
Ha-wol had said it plainly.
Moros's power surpassed even that of a Ranker at the very least—but the entity itself was no true Ranker.
Therefore it was no immortal. It was a mortal thing.
Something like the phantom of the Thunder Dragon that once guarded Noe-je, no doubt.
A device constructed so that no Climber could ever break it. Mechanisms that, by any normal means, were simply impossible to overcome.
And Hyun Si-woon knew.
At the end of every such absurdity there always waited a reward that matched—or exceeded—the sheer unreasonableness of the challenge.
Rumble—!
With its seal fully undone, Moros began to pour out its power in earnest.
Black energy surged upward, and then—
—Kyaaaaah!
—Kigigik!
The corpses of every beast they had slain rose as one.
"I-Insane!"
"This can't be happening…"
It was a scene of pure despair.
From the first wave through the ninth, the undead they had cut down numbered well into the tens of thousands.
—Kuhahaha! My legion, rise! Bestow the terror of death upon these insolent ones!
Moros swept the massive scythe in its hand, and the resurrected undead horde charged the walls, shaking the very earth.
"This is…"
Despair edged Baek Yeon-ho's voice.
Could they hold?
No.
They could not.
This was simply an impossible flood of numbers. The entire landscape filling their vision was packed solid with undead.
—Ahh… you fools…
Aegis's face drained of all color.
So this was how it ended, after all.
Her gaze locked onto Hyun Si-woon, waiting for whatever action he might take.
This is the mess you started. Do something. At least show me you're trying to fix it.
Si-woon gave a small nod.
Fine. I'll show you.
Taat!
He drew the Thunder Dragon Spear and drove his foot hard against the fortress floor.
Moon Shadow Step.
Second Step.
Crescent Moon Step.
Treading the Void.
Strength exceeding twenty fused with the Crescent Moon Step; his body shot skyward like a coiled spring.
At the same time he gripped the spear tighter and murmured inwardly.
Thunder Emperor's Manifestation.
Crackle—!
Blue lightning leapt from the spear.
The afterimage flickered in the air and began to sketch a human form.
A silver-haired man who looked as though he had just been jolted awake from a nap.
This was the trump card Si-woon had been saving, and saving, and saving again.
—…This Thunder Emperor greets his lord once more.
Fatigue sat heavy on the face that bowed, yet the presence itself was anything but weary. It was an overwhelming pressure that seemed ready to scorch the world clean.
His eyes opened; he scanned the surroundings and instantly locked onto the target.
Moros.
The insolent thing was spewing filthy murderous intent right in front of his lord—nothing more than another fly of the same breed as before.
Noe-je's finger moved lightly.
A single casual crook of one digit, and the flow of the surrounding air twisted.
Moisture in the atmosphere condensed in an instant, then shifted into plasma; a blue point no larger than a needle tip formed at his fingertip.
It was a nucleus of energy compressed under extreme pressure.
Crackle—!
Sound vanished.
Instead of the rupture of tearing air, an absolute silence fell, as though everything had been plunged into vacuum.
The blue speck of light left Noe-je's fingertip and crossed space at the speed of light.
Whirr—!
Along the path it carved, space itself warped, leaving black afterimages. Like a red-hot blade through butter, it ignored every physical law of the world and took the shortest route straight toward Moros.
Kwa-dudududuk!
The moment the light touched Moros's body, sound returned.
This was no mere impact.
The blue energy that burrowed inside became a current exceeding a billion volts, racing through nerves and blood vessels in nanoseconds.
Moros's body turned transparent like a gigantic light bulb, the violent blue lightning coursing within laid bare for all to see.
Destruction at the cellular level.
Every drop of moisture inside vaporized at once and expanded; muscles and organs that could not withstand the pressure detonated from within. Even solid bone collapsed at the molecular level under the ultra-high heat and scattered as white powder.
Moros never even managed a scream.
Before the vocal cords and brain could register pain, its very existence was already being erased.
Where it had stood, only the stench of scorched ozone and a lingering blue afterglow remained.
Thud-thud-thud!
The instant Moros vanished, the undead legion that had followed it lost their supply of mana and crumbled into dust.
And then—
Thunder Emperor's Manifestation has been released.
Noe-je was gone.
Silence settled.
Even the party members who had long since built up a tolerance for whatever absurdities Si-woon pulled, and even Aegis who was seeing him for the first time—every one of them could only gape at the supernatural phenomenon that had just unfolded before their eyes.
"W-What the hell."
Baek Yeon-ho was the first to find his voice.
"What was that just now?"
He had clearly seen it.
Si-woon had rocketed into the air, blue lightning had erupted from the spear in his hand, and that lightning had briefly taken the shape of a man… and then everything had simply evaporated.
This isn't even on a level where you can call it a cheat…
You only called something a cheat when it still fell somewhere inside the bounds of understanding. What had just happened was a miracle—or a catastrophe—that transcended every law of the world, physics included.
The rest of the party was equally stunned.
They had felt Si-woon's strength up close more than anyone, yet this was an entirely different dimension of power.
"You mentioned before that you could briefly draw on a Ranker's power. So that was it, huh."
Jang Cha-yul muttered, voice trembling.
The offhand remark Si-woon had let slip when he dealt with Penlark.
Back then I just thought it was some kind of strong one-shot skill…
Looking at it now, that was wrong. To put it accurately, this was the first time any of them had ever witnessed the genuine power of a Ranker.
But the one who took the greatest shock of all was, without question, Aegis.
—Ahh…
Her gaze followed Si-woon as he landed. In her eyes he was no longer some insignificant Climber.
—Truly… truly… Moros has been annihilated.
Only now did she understand the source of the confidence this Climber had shown. To her, who would have been content with a perfect seal, he had given the far greater gift of Moros's complete erasure.
Something hot welled up inside her chest.
Gratitude.
And an emotion even deeper than gratitude.
The vow she had made rose to the surface of her mind.
If that Climber ever resolves my grudge… I will stake everything I am.
Aegis no longer hesitated.
—Climber.
Her voice no longer carried the old dignity; instead it held profound respect.
—You have resolved the grudge I have carried for so long. This grace… I shall never forget, not until the day my soul itself is extinguished.
"Don't mention it."
Si-woon answered casually and looked straight at her.
The look that said, If you've got something to give, hand it over already.
After a performance of this magnitude, the reward had to be better than what Yeon-ho hyung had received, at the very least. That was only fair.
Had she read the intent in his eyes?
—Come closer.
She raised a hand. Golden particles began to rise from her body.
—This is an ancestral relic passed down through my house for generations. Symbolic, yes—but it is as precious to me as my own life.
Aegis's voice trembled.
—Ordinarily I would never bestow such a treasure upon an outsider… yet you have more than proven yourself worthy to become the master of this shield.
The shield drifted slowly through the air until it stopped before Si-woon.
◈ Acquired: World Tree's Shield (Normal)
This item is the only one of its kind that exists within the Tower of Despair.
Huh?
A message that said it was the only one in the entire Tower of Despair—exactly the same as when he had obtained the Formless Sword.
Si-woon's eyes lit up; he hurriedly opened the description.
Name:World Tree's Shield
Type:Shield
Grade:Normal (Growth-Type)
Trait:A shield forged from a twig of Yggdrasil
Defense:5
Durability:∞ (Indestructible)
"Huh?"
What the hell. That was it?
The Formless Sword and the Thunder Dragon Spear had both carried explanations that a deceased spirit dwelled within the weapon. Here there was nothing of the sort—only the note that it was a twig of Yggdrasil.
Still, the indestructible effect and the growth-type classification were welcome enough.
—My duty is finished. Thank you, Climbers. Now I too must return to the place where my knights await. May the shield I have given you protect many more things in the days ahead.
With those final words Aegis's form scattered into a handful of light motes.
At the same moment, the familiar system messages rose.
You have cleared the 6th Floor of the Tower of Despair.
6th Floor clear rewards have arrived!
1,000,000 TC acquired.
Nice.
A cool million TC. A shame there was no stat increase—everyone had already broken past twenty.
Privilege ability activates.
Save point has been set to the current moment.
Whoosh!
The entire party was flung outside the Tower.
Whoooosh—
A cold night wind brushed the cheeks of the party members as they emerged from the Tower.
Si-woon immediately scanned the surroundings and drew the Formless Sword from his inventory, fastening it at his waist.
The others still stood with blank faces, not yet free of the shock of Moros's annihilation.
First things first—I need to check this.
Si-woon called to Ha-wol inwardly.
Ha-wol. What's the World Tree? Do you know anything about Yggdrasil?
—World Tree? Yggdrasil?
Ha-wol tilted her head.
—I have never heard those names. Among the divine trees this lady knows, none bore such a title…
You don't know either?
Si-woon's brow furrowed.
Ha-wol ranked among the very highest of Rankers. If even she had never heard of it… then almost no one inside the Tower would know either.
He pulled the shield free and turned it this way and that.
A medium-sized rectangular shield. Its surface still showed living wood grain and felt smooth to the touch; a strange pattern was carved into the center.
That was all. No sealed existence like Ha-wol or Noe-je made an appearance.
Hmmmm.
What kind of story was sealed inside this shield? One thing was certain: something obtained after clearing a mission that difficult was never going to be ordinary. He would find out in time.
Just as Si-woon was staring hard at the shield—
"Hey, Si-woon."
Baek Yeon-ho approached with a grave expression. His voice trembled faintly, unlike its usual tone.
"Can we… talk for a second? Just the two of us?"
Yeon-ho glanced around and whispered. The intention to keep the others from overhearing was obvious.
Si-woon nodded and stood.
"Good work, everyone. We'll be heading up to the 7th Floor soon, so grab a meal nearby first. Replenish your stamina. Anyone who's short on sleep, catch some rest while you can."
At Si-woon's order the party members pulled out combat rations as though they had been waiting for the word. Taking advantage of the moment, Si-woon and Yeon-ho quietly slipped away from the group and headed toward the nearby banks of the Han River.
"What's up, hyung?"
Baek Yeon-ho swallowed dryly, flicked a glance at the empty air above his own head, then looked back at Si-woon—repeating the cycle several times.
Terror, confusion, and stunned disbelief warred across his face.
At last, as though steeling himself, he spoke in a trembling voice.
"R-Right now…"
"Yeah."
"There's a ghost floating over my head."
"…?"
Si-woon's eyes widened.
Yeon-ho's gaze lifted once more toward the space above him. His voice dropped even lower.
"It's that, right? The thing you mentioned before… that Ranker."
Yes.
From the very moment Baek Yeon-ho had taken the Shield of the Earth's Cry into his hands, he had been facing an existence only he could see.