Devouring the Sword of Ruin
The familiar ceiling greeted me.
No matter how many times I closed and opened my eyes, the view never changed.
I was back at the guild house.
“Aaaagh.”
I stretched my arms and legs as far as they would go.
I hadn’t gotten a proper night’s sleep in the Tower’s underground.
“Hohoho, complaining already?”
“You were the one switching between physical and spirit form, Goddess.”
Grumbling, I sank into the softness of the bed.
Fatigue still lingered throughout my body.
I had hunted monsters in an environment that would have killed an ordinary person within a minute.
I had also resisted the mental domination of the apocalyptic demonic sword, Mistilteinn.
Not since I dug up the Tyrannosaurus fossil right after regressing had I felt this exhausted.
Back in the age of destruction, this kind of fatigue had been everyday life.
When I closed my eyes for a moment and opened them again, Nyx was staring at me.
“……What are you doing?”
“I was watching over you.”
“I am pretty handsome, after all.”
“It seems this one has not adapted to this world as well as I thought.”
“I adapted just fine. What’s the problem?”
“According to this world’s aesthetic standards, calling you handsome appears to be incorrect.”
Wow. That was a heavy fact bomb. I had no comeback.
“Isn’t it a bit much to insult someone right to their face?”
“Oh my. If I have offended you, I offer my apologies.”
The way she said it only made me angrier.
I waved my hand dismissively.
The more I talked, the dumber I felt.
“Forget it. Let’s just Devour something.”
“Do you still have more essence left to consume?”
“The giant gave it to me, remember?”
I took Mistilteinn out of the Pocket of Desire, where I had been storing it.
Black currents shimmered around the blade.
The ominous aura of Mistilteinn slowly spread across the floor.
“What do you intend to do with that dreadful thing?”
“Eat it.”
The target of Devour depended on whether something possessed an essence.
Like the story of the baby dragon I found in Jirisan.
The essence of a primordial species.
Even though it was not a living creature, an essence resided within it, so I could Devour it without issue.
Mistilteinn was the same.
It was not a relic belonging to any specific constellation, yet it carried an essence worthy of its title as the sword of the apocalypse.
“How fortunate.”
I had already devoured Mistilteinn’s essence once before.
Before regressing.
After defeating Cho Seung-cheol, I had consumed the essence of the demonic sword that had possessed him.
Grasping Mistilteinn’s hilt, I activated Devour.
Devouring Mistilteinn’s essence.
My hand gripping the sword trembled uncontrollably.
— Rage.
— Kill.
— Offer blood.
The fury steeped within Mistilteinn.
The demonic sword, forged by absorbing the blood of the god of light, Baldur, spoke directly into my mind.
This was the result of devouring even Mistilteinn’s malice.
“Kghhh.”
I forcefully suppressed the rising anger.
When Utgarda-Loki had been watching, I had pretended to be consumed by rage and failed to properly suppress Mistilteinn’s tricks.
But now, with no one watching, it was different.
Essence Devoured: 1.3 → 2.1 → 2.8 → 3.3
……
Essence Devoured: 100%
Essence Grade: Legendary
You have perfectly absorbed the essence of an entire species.
Divine Power + 12
Skill — Deicide has been added.
Deicide
Grade: ★★★★★
Classification: Passive
When hostile toward a constellation or an existence that once possessed starlight, all stats increase by 200%.
Ignores rank differences and applies all attacks at 100% effectiveness.
Deicide. Also known as Godslayer.
A passive skill specialized against the Old Gods.
When facing constellations or former constellations, all stats tripled.
On top of that, it allowed me to deal damage even to opponents of higher rank.
“Now I’ve reached the starting line.”
“So you truly intend to see it through.”
“I made a contract with you, Goddess.”
If I wanted to fulfill Nyx’s goal, conflict with the Old Gods was inevitable.
They were the ones who had sealed the source of her power, Night, inside the Tower of Babel.
“Do not push yourself too hard.”
“It’s not like I’m overdoing it.”
I smiled lightly.
The Monkey King of Mount Huaguo is watching you.
The Monkey King of Mount Huaguo is flustered by the nullified Clairvoyance.
The Monkey King of Mount Huaguo is……
“Ah, this is seriously annoying.”
I waved my hand.
The underground of the Tower was a place even constellations could not observe.
Despite going so far as to make a Clairvoyance contract, Sun Wukong seemed quite irritated that he could see nothing.
“I’ll explain where I went, so just wait a bit.”
Sun Wukong.
I’m about to tell you one hell of a story.
* * *
[Sanctuary — Valhalla]
The residence of the Aesir gods, built in the Pantheon on the 100th floor of the Tower.
The man wearing a jester’s mask.
Loki slowly opened his closed eyes.
‘Something’s wrong.’
The thread tied to the tip of his little finger.
The thread that had been connected somewhere had snapped in the middle.
Loki wiggled his finger repeatedly, but the thread showed no sign of moving.
‘It wasn’t cut by anyone.’
Not long ago.
Loki had given Mistilteinn to the fallen constellation who shared his name, Utgarda-Loki.
The apocalyptic demonic sword he had forged to slay the god of light, Baldur.
He had worked hard to create it while avoiding the eyes of the Aesir gods, but it had only managed to inflict a fatal wound on Baldur.
The god-king Odin had ordered Loki into confinement as punishment for his excessive mischief.
Mistilteinn also had to be disposed of.
However.
Loki did not want the toy he had put so much effort into creating to vanish meaninglessly.
‘It would be a waste to throw it away, wouldn’t it?’
Bypassing the Tower’s rules.
When he handed Mistilteinn to Utgarda-Loki, he had played one little trick.
A spell to observe the sword’s owner.
The thread tied to his finger was a ritual tool connecting Loki and Mistilteinn.
A powerful magical tool invisible to others.
If no one had cut it, there was only one possibility.
“Mistilteinn has been destroyed?”
Even after reaching that conclusion, Loki wore a dissatisfied expression.
Baldur was the legitimate successor to the god-king Odin.
Unlike Ares, the troublemaker of Olympus, he was a constellation with deep popularity, powerful authority, and brilliant starlight.
A demonic sword that had not only inflicted a great wound on such a constellation but had also absorbed his blood.
The corner of Loki’s mouth twitched.
“This could be interesting.”
The magical thread remaining on his little finger.
If he investigated it, he would learn why Mistilteinn had been destroyed.
An unexpected variable.
The trickster Loki loved situations that defied expectations.
Whether they worked against him or in his favor.
“Something intriguing has already happened, hasn’t it?”
Loki chuckled as he retrieved the severed thread.
* * *
After a week away, I returned to the guild house.
I gathered the guild members who were preparing for their promotion matches.
“Masterrrrr!”
“Stop.”
I held out my palm to block Jiyoung as she approached.
The image of her during the Wall of Wailing period was still stuck in my head, making it hard to adjust sometimes.
“It was so hard while you weren’t here, Master.”
“What happened?”
“Do you know how many gates we went in and out of?!”
“Sounds like nothing serious happened.”
To take the promotion match, they needed to reach level 150, the level cap for their current rank.
Since they had been promoted to Bronze at the same time as me, they had to raise their levels to the limit within two months.
That number was impossible to achieve by simply clearing Tower missions.
The guild members had cleared countless gates over the past month, just as I had done before.
“Look. Our Enrique’s eyes are so sunken now.”
“I am not a child. Do not call me ‘our’ so casually.”
“How hard must it have been for that adorable child to become so cold?”
“Let go!”
Jiyoung was hugging Enrique.
Don’t do that.
Look at his eyes. He really hates it.
When he saw Nyx, he called her “big sister,” but with Jiyoung he spoke informally without hesitation.
Tsk.
“Have you gotten used to handling the equipment?”
“Thanks to you, Guild Master. I’ve improved a little.”
Enrique spoke to me with proper honorifics.
He had better learning ability than Ping Lei.
“How about you? Are you learning well?”
“Guild Master.”
Ping Lei’s words caught in his throat.
Why was he acting like this?
His eyes were bloodshot, and his beard had grown wildly as if he hadn’t shaved in days.
Ping Lei looked at me with a haggard face.
“It’s difficult.”
“What is?”
“The constellation’s teachings.”
It seemed Sun Wukong was putting him through intense training while teaching him Taoist magic and martial arts.
“It’ll all become part of your bones and flesh. Hang in there.”
“Ughhh.”
Ping Lei groaned.
All I could do was connect him to the constellation. I couldn’t interfere with how the constellation taught him.
“You should spar. That’ll help you understand faster.”
“Are you trying to kill me?”
“People don’t die that easily. I’ll show you.”
Ping Lei took a step back.
The best way to internalize what he had learned was through real combat or equivalent sparring.
When I had time, I needed to properly oversee Ping Lei’s training.
“Guild Master, when are we sparring?”
“Ah, Karla. Let’s do that later.”
Karla hadn’t changed much.
“Thanks to Enrique, the combat ability of the doll soldiers has increased.”
Brother Youngsoo seemed strangely excited.
Even while I was away, everyone had worked hard.
That’s how my guild members should be.
“What about Executive Director Ellen?”
“She logged into the Tower of Babel.”
“Looks like she hasn’t returned to America yet.”
Her lingering attachment to Karla.
Given Ellen’s personality, she wouldn’t give up easily.
According to my memories before regressing, even if she clung to her, she wouldn’t be able to change Karla’s mind. That was the problem.
“How much time until the promotion match?”
“One week.”
“Good. I’ll join you for the remaining period.”
To face three guilds head-on on the 35th floor, I needed to train the guild members even a little more.
The time until the promotion match flew by.
Gate clearing.
And training.
“Uwaaaah!”
Ping Lei created multiple clones and charged at me, but.
When I swung my hand, they all burst apart.
“Eat this!”
[Mechanic Control]
[Mana Release]
[Mana Condensation]
Blue mana erupted from behind Enrique’s armor.
While the clones were bursting, he instantly appeared behind me and spread both hands.
The mana condensed in his palms was released all at once.
A blue sphere flew toward me, but I neutralized it with the power of Polar Night.
“That’s not enough. You’re still not drawing out the armor’s full power.”
BOOM!
Even though I had only hit him lightly, Enrique’s body was sent flying several meters back.
One-on-one.
Or one against many.
I pushed the guild members to their limits during sparring.
Each of them possessed outstanding talent.
During training, the guild members surpassed their own limits again and again.
On the day of the promotion match.
I looked over the guild members, who now had fierce eyes.
“Oh, there’s one favor I need to ask.”
“What is it, Guild Master?”
“From the start of the promotion match, don’t push too hard. Get pushed back appropriately instead.”
“Get pushed back? What do you mean……”
Ping Lei asked with a puzzled voice.
“Up to about double score.”
“You want me to create War Golems.”
“I’ll provide the CP. And put Enrique inside one.”
A Mechanic ability user.
If Enrique boarded a War Golem, his understanding of magical engineering would increase far more than before.
I couldn’t miss this opportunity.
“Master, we’re not the only ones participating, you know.”
“I’ll ask for their understanding.”
If words didn’t work, then with skill.
I grinned.