Chapter 66
Chapter 66
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 66
Chapter Title: Fall of the Primordial Crow
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Tentacles and black liquid surged skyward.
The Primordial Crow's wings were shredded, as if it had been struck by an explosion.
Standing before it was Pyodor, venting overheated steam from his body.
Clang!
At the same moment, he dropped the sword he had been gripping.
Pyodor's arm trembled faintly.
He had pushed his berserk transformation to its absolute limit in one go, and the strain was taking its toll.
"Ugh... damn... it."
But the Primordial Crow had only lost a single wing.
The beast was still perfectly fine.
Furious at the fact, Pyodor tried to move, but his body refused to obey.
"Roughly a passing grade."
Just then, Havel brushed past him.
In that instant, the Primordial Crow's attack resumed.
Its other arm came swinging down toward Havel.
But as if he had anticipated it perfectly, Havel drew his sword.
Dawn clung to Havel's blade.
Clanggg!
A single swing.
That alone severed not just the Primordial Crow's wing, but its entire upper body.
The destructive power was utterly absurd compared to how lightly he had swung.
It was all thanks to the power of destruction contained within Havel's sword.
Perhaps because Havel's strike was far more ridiculous than his own full-power blow.
Pyodor stood there, mouth agape, unable to close it.
He had learned just how strong Havel was by taking a beating from him firsthand.
But witnessing it again with his own eyes made the gap between them feel all the more real.
Even heaven and earth weren't this far apart.
This was the distance from one end of the universe to the other.
"And if you want to finish it in one strike, you can't hold back your body like that."
Havel's returned words left Pyodor flustered.
He had poured out everything to the point his body wouldn't move anymore.
And yet, he was being told not to hold back here?
It was utter nonsense.
But Havel was dead serious.
"You just haven't experienced death a few times yet, so you can't use it. Here, I'll show you roughly."
It was at that moment.
Pyodor sensed something twisting around Havel.
A handful of dawn clung to his sword.
All the light in the world vanished, and only his dawn became visible.
The world began to flow, centered on Havel.
Even the Primordial Crow stood frozen.
Everyone simply stared at Havel in a daze.
If that blade were swung...
This world might just disappear.
Full power.
Pyodor finally understood what the term truly meant.
"Got the gist?"
In that instant, the full power Havel had gathered dispersed all at once.
The storm of force vanished like smoke in a heartbeat, sending Pyodor crumpling to the ground.
The halted world finally seemed to turn again.
Cold sweat beaded on his face, every hair standing on end.
It felt like he had glimpsed death itself.
"Kraaaaaaaaak!"
At the same time, the Primordial Crow's shriek echoed out.
Its body, like inky black liquid, began to collapse.
Watching it crumble, Havel leaped lightly.
His sword cleaved through the crow relic at the creature's core.
Schwick!
With that, the Primordial Crow's body fully disintegrated.
The black liquids turned to smoke upon hitting the ground and vanished.
That smoke then transferred entirely into Havel's body. ⚙ SYSTEM NOTIFICATION ⚙ [Achievement 'The One Who Defeated the Primordial Crow' has been registered.] [The Calamity of the 'Primordial Crow' permeates your body.] [The Tower takes notice of your arrival.] — Strength has increased by 90. — Agility has increased by 101. — Endurance has increased by 103. — Talent has increased by 95. — Technique has increased by 89. — Calamity has increased by 91. Sure enough, the gains from the Tower were massive.
Even compared to other Calamities, the numbers were far higher, and his Calamity stat was now just shy of four digits.
It wouldn't be long before he transcended it.
"Hurry up and move. We're heading to the next floor."
Urged by Havel, Pyodor swallowed a groan and forced himself to stand.
"Are you a monster?"
"Unfortunately, I'm human."
Replying to Pyodor's question, Havel ascended the altar.
Now it was time for the 72nd floor.
Havel climbed the altar and immediately offered the golden crow.
The interlopers had all fled when the Primordial Crow appeared.
Thanks to that, he could offer it without issue.
As the altar entrance sealed, a beam of light descended from the sky.
The beam traced along the altar's ceiling and led inward.
"Ride this beam of light, and it'll take you to the 72nd floor."
Balop quickly provided the information.
Havel took the lead and stepped into the beam.
An odd sensation hit, as if his body was flying somewhere.
As the beam faded and Havel opened his eyes, an unfamiliar sight greeted him.
Crows soared through the sky here too, marking it as the same hierarchy.
But unlike before, these crows weren't particularly large.
Their forms had changed quite a bit as well.
Previously, they resembled ancient creatures.
Now, they properly took the shape of crows.
And their numbers were locust-swarm levels of massive.
Proof that, unlike before, they were flocking together.
Rumble rumble rumble!
A waterfall's roar reached Havel's ears.
Looking up following the sound, he spotted an island of overwhelming size.
Water pouring from the massive floating island had become a waterfall.
The forest landscape was different from the previous floor too.
The layer below had been dominated by Paleozoic plants.
But here, Mesozoic flora crowded everywhere.
Besides crows, other creatures lurked here and there too.
They seemed fresh off evolution, still close to their primordial states.
Ascending floors felt like jumping eras.
By then, Balop and Pyodor had crossed over too.
Since it was their first time on the 72nd floor, they looked tense.
"Balop, 72nd floor conquest method."
"Yes, as you saw, gather the pieces for the crow statue."
The completed crow statue immediately ascends to the sky, disassembles, and scatters.
The 72nd floor's master appears where that statue vanished.
"Just beat that, right."
As expected of a higher hierarchy.
The conditions were getting trickier with each floor.
"Sounds like the 7th hierarchy situation."
"Ahaha."
Balop scratched his head awkwardly at Havel's words.
As Havel said, pieces on the 72nd floor could be monopolized.
So the climbers who reached the 72nd had already snatched them all up.
Some formed alliances.
Others absolutely refused to yield.
"The Five Great Families seem to have banded together and rushed ahead. But latecomers can't do that."
Thus, the latecomers were in a standoff, clutching their pieces.
"Simple enough then."
Havel cracked his neck, as if it posed no challenge.
"Same as last time."
Disaster began stirring toward the 7th hierarchy latecomers. ◇◇◇◆◇◇◇ 72nd floor. Amid the unexpected piece wars raging on.
A strange rumor had recently been circulating.
A trio was ambushing those holding pieces.
And taking every last one.
Pieces were the key to the 73rd floor—something you absolutely couldn't lose.
So their targets resisted desperately.
Yet the trio crushed them all.
Among the victims were some fairly renowned climbers.
Naturally, this news became a storm across the 72nd floor.
Someone was upsetting the balance to clear the floor, they said.
"Damn it, I was gonna trade these pieces for gold. Everything's ruined now."
On one such floating island.
A man of massive build vented his frustration.
He was the man recently nicknamed "the Giant" among climbers.
True to the name, his frame was enormous.
His followers had gathered around him.
"What can we do? Some lunatic's going around collecting all the pieces."
One subordinate said regretfully, eyeing him.
Pieces fetched a hefty price.
They had been making good money off them.
But the lunatic showed up, and trades dried up.
Everyone was too busy guarding their own pieces.
"Boss, whoever this lunatic is, if we play it right, we could snag a ton of pieces, right?"
Another subordinate made a suggestion.
The giant stroked his square jaw with a thick hand.
As the man said, it might be an opportunity to score pieces.
Catch the lunatic, and all his pieces were theirs.
"How much gold would that haul in?"
"Is that the issue? We could clear the 72nd with that much."
"So, who's got pieces here right now?"
"Huh? You, boss."
Amid their mumbling chatter.
The instant a subordinate casually answered the sudden question.
The air turned icy, and all eyes locked on one spot.
The voice belonged to someone no one recognized.
At the center of attention sat a man.
Silver hair bordering on white draped down.
He sat calmly by a fire he had lit.
Roasting a slab of meat over branches, utterly at ease.
His men gawked in disbelief.
"Wh-who the hell are you?"
As one nearby stammered the question, Havel lifted the branch.
"Me? The guy you've been looking for."
The subordinates' eyes bulged.
They instantly drew weapons and lunged.
But the swords aimed at Havel's neck halted there.
Kaching!
Instead, a metallic clash rang out.
Havel leisurely sliced off a piece of meat and bit into it.
"Pyodor, it's on that guy. Take it."
With those words, a man burst from the bushes.
The one with a bull tattoo on his arm was none other than Pyodor.
Shing!
Wielding a long curved blade and dagger, Pyodor charged and clashed with the giant.
"Boss!"
"You lot stay put."
The others tried to aid the giant but couldn't budge.
The moment Havel spoke, their bodies froze solid.
"Can I come out now?"
"Yeah."
With Havel's permission, Balop scampered out of the bushes.
He had grown quite brazen himself and started chomping on some meat.
A proper gang of thugs.
"Oh, this is tasty."
As Balop enjoyed himself, the giant and Pyodor desperately dueled.
"Ha... Havel-nim."
Watching the spectacle.
Havel heard someone who recognized him speak up.
Turning, he saw a mild-featured man.
One of the giant's crew. Havel looked puzzled.
"Someone here knows me?"
"Fr-from the Graiza family... one of us."
Graiza.
It was one of the men Baria Graiza had trailed Havel with for a time.
Havel had only released his bindings.
The man gulped raggedly, then dropped to his knees.
His face vanished, replaced by a mask.
As he said, a Graiza family mask that freely altered faces.
"Havel-nim, please! Baria-nim went missing on the 7th hierarchy. Help us find him!"
And just like that, news of Baria's disappearance hit.