Chapter 96
Chapter 96
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 96
Chapter Title: Memento Mori Assembles
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A member of Memento Mori.
The witch, Sarisis.
She now faced several of her comrades.
Every one of them was a member of Memento Mori.
Each wielded their own Calamity armament.
At the center of them all knelt a man.
It was Moebius, the man who had climbed the Tower alongside Havel in the past.
Memento Mori had racked their brains trying to capture him.
His bone wraiths were notoriously tricky to deal with.
"Ah, my arm's still tingling."
One of the members who had clashed with Moebius groaned.
As he glared at Moebius, his expression was utterly murderous.
"There's nothing to gain from capturing me."
That was what he had kept repeating ever since his capture.
But the situation had changed now.
"Why not? Havel's shown up."
The witch Sarisis had brought back some fresh intel.
Moebius turned to her at her words.
His face stiffened for the first time.
He had endured every torture Memento Mori threw at him with stoic calm.
Yet here he was, showing such a visible reaction.
Everyone started taking interest in his response.
"Havel? That guy? The climber who conquered the 7th Hierarchy."
"Heard he's with some rising power called Banpellyon lately."
"Sarisis, is it true he's appeared?"
As everyone chimed in, she held up a book.
"Yep. Graiza's book says he entered the 75th floor."
"But Barutuga and Merimolli were down there, right?"
Another member asked, and Sarisis shook her head.
"Haven't heard from them in a while."
Everyone there knew exactly what that meant.
"Those two got taken out."
Both were fellow Memento Mori members.
They knew their strength well.
Reactions varied among the group.
Some burned with fighting spirit.
Others felt uneasy.
"Are they trying to lure us out on purpose?"
The one who spoke up looked the most emotionless.
His face was completely flayed, revealing charred black skin.
No hair, just bulging muscles visible under pitch-black garb.
His pants were woven from steel links, their weight evident.
But the red bracelet on his wrist stood out as the strangest feature.
Moebius sensed something ominous just looking at him.
As a wielder of Calamities himself, Moebius was acutely sensitive to them.
Yet the Calamity dwelling within this man was utterly unfathomable.
The captain of Memento Mori's main Tower-climbing unit.
Lidark.
Moebius was certain.
All these people were extraordinary in their own right.
But even if they all attacked together...
They couldn't defeat Lidark.
His presence was on another level entirely.
"Kukuku. A trap, then. Leaking info on purpose to draw us down. Cocky bastards."
A hunched, one-eyed man with sharp fangs chuckled.
He too was a member of Memento Mori.
"Pfft."
At that moment, Moebius burst into laughter.
For the first time, he showed real emotion.
The Memento Mori members stared at him in confusion, not getting the joke.
"What's so funny?"
Lidark asked, and Moebius slowly met his gaze.
"No one batting an eye at being called cocky? That's hilarious."
Behind Lidark's black skull mask, red eyes flickered.
"So you're saying he's got the strength to take us on."
Did they even realize how arrogant that sounded?
Probably not.
They'd never faced Havel directly.
"Not someone to take lightly, then."
Lidark interpreted Moebius's attitude in his own way and lifted his head.
"Sirasis, fetch Graiza's direct lineage. Twins, you two prepare as well. Time to greet our guests."
Lidark issued orders in earnest.
"And you, bring in Moebius's underlings."
Moebius clicked his tongue inwardly.
Looks like Changjabi, the burn victim, and the old hags hadn't escaped either.
"Even if you drag in my underlings, you won't hear anything worth listening to."
Moebius mocked Lidark's judgment.
"Doesn't matter. We're not after stories about Havel."
But his next words made Moebius's face harden.
"Whisperer."
Lidark thrust his black skull face right up to Moebius.
"The Armament King wishes to meet him."
At that instant, Lidark's hand reached downward.
Squelch!
His extended hand pierced Moebius's shadow and delved inside.
Then he pulled out a small skull even larger than its body.
The skull thrashed, clacking its teeth against his hand.
But Lidark didn't flinch.
"You're on the list too."
The skull was Priest Edler.
The apostle of God's Poison, whose soul Moebius had extracted and trapped in the skull.
"God's Poison."
Edler's form froze.
Both Moebius and Edler—their masters had been named.
"It's time we all meet."
Lidark's red eyes gleamed coldly.
High in the sky, a massive island floated.
A kingdom of considerable size sprawled across it.
A kingdom on a scale worlds apart from the old city.
This was the main stage of the 75th floor.
The civilization the crows had reached.
The Kingdom of Phileo.
In front of a terrace at one inn in the Kingdom of Phileo.
Havel tilted his teacup with a slightly displeased look.
He was recalling what Owen had said just moments ago.
"Th-the city of Havel has fallen."
The city of Havel had been destroyed.
What did that mean?
"So all our hard work on the 74th floor went to waste?"
Elasia let out a hollow laugh as she stated the fact.
"Puhaha, what idiots."
Barutuga, the prisoner watching the scene, cackled.
Havel immediately smacked him on the head.
But it didn't ease his frustration much.
Havel stared at the Crow Kingdom.
The city where the mayoral seat was hereditary.
It had grown amid magical advancements.
Then a coup erupted, the city fell, and a kingdom rose.
Thus, the current rulers of the Crow Tendal tribe were the Phileo royal family.
As Elasia said, everything had become meaningless.
Havel rubbed the back of his neck.
Were Towers and the outside world always like this?
It felt like something everyone endured at least once per era.
'Did Byran have no worthy heirs?'
Well, his supposedly exceptional son had died in the war against the Stryke tribe.
Not exactly a pleasant succession.
But the current kingdom wasn't faring much better.
The king kept committing outrages.
The people suffered under a long drought.
Even rebel forces had formed.
It looked prosperous on the surface, but inside it was a mess.
An opportunity presented itself.
As Havel pondered this, he sensed a presence behind him.
"Lord Havel, message from Lady Elasia."
Right on cue, contact came.
Havel had sent Elasia to the kingdom to gather intel.
To find one specific crow.
"Any news?"
"Yes. As expected, a descendant of the Havel city lord is at the heart of the rebels."
The youngest Tendal chieftain, Baldoran Tendal's heir.
Sure enough, he was active in the rebel forces.
A chilling smile crept across Havel's lips.
"If we make that guy succeed in the rebellion, it'll make clearing the 76th floor much smoother."
"Yes, I suspect so."
Owen seemed to think the same.
The path to clearing the 75th floor was coming into view.
'The problem is Memento Mori.'
The Tower's timelines shifted per floor.
Especially in the 7th Hierarchy, where lower floor outcomes influenced the upper ones.
Climbers' timelines often mismatched between floors.
The gap between the 74th and 75th was two whole months.
A bigger discrepancy than anticipated.
"And as expected, Memento Mori has made their move."
The bait he'd tossed after entering the 75th floor.
Memento Mori had bitten.
"Tomorrow at 11 p.m., Atine Mountain."
A mountain.
Havel narrowed his eyes at the word.
It reeked of suspicion.
'They're openly setting a trap.'
They knew he could check their books for info too.
So the moment he bit, they threw bait right back.
'A provocation.'
As if daring him—what can you do if we don't show?
Havel mulled over the taunt, drumming his arm slowly.
"What will you do? It's definitely a trap."
Owen knew it was a trap as well.
Havel would be fine, but what-ifs lingered.
He had his concerns.
"If we don't go, they'll bring up Baria nine times out of ten."
Owen's face darkened at Havel's words.
He was dead serious about rescuing Baria.
He wanted to save her no matter what.
But he wouldn't risk endangering Havel recklessly.
"Lord Havel!"
A commotion erupted.
Elasia was rushing toward them, looking frantic.
Pyod beside her wore the same urgent expression.
"What is it?"
"Huff, huff—we heard through Owen that you found the rebels?"
"Yeah."
Havel turned and spotted Merimolli next to her.
Merimolli looked utterly exhausted.
She specialized in extracting info by designating targets as puppets.
Unable to resist Havel's threats, she'd been helping Elasia.
"The problem is... the rebels are launching their coup against the kingdom tomorrow."
Elasia had turned a discovered rebel into a puppet and pried out info.
What she learned was none other than the rebels' mobilization date.
The two-month time gap had created quite the disparity in the Tower.
Owen and Havel's eyes met.
Of all days, it was tomorrow.
Havel recalled Memento Mori's demanded date.
Tomorrow, 11 p.m.
The day the rebels staged their coup.
The dates overlapped suspiciously.
'Thinking it's coincidence would be too naive.'
A uneasy feeling stirred.
"Elasia, we need to dig deeper into the rebels."
"Ah, Merimolli here can handle that."
Elasia elbowed Merimolli's side.
Unable to refuse, Merimolli placed a puppet before Havel.
"Ugh!"
The puppet twitched and lifted its head.
Its mind linked to a rebel member's.
"Rebel forces... cough... are you with Havel?"
The rebel force was named Havel.
Havel felt a bit odd that his name was being used again by coincidence.
"Wh-who are you?"
"Got confirmation. Answer only what's asked. Do the rebels have backers?"
The puppet writhed at Havel's question.
It resisted answering.
But as Merimolli raised a finger, it obeyed meekly.
"Yes, we have helpers. They claim to be allies of the Lion of the Night. They wielded weapons like the Star Sword he used."
Havel and Merimolli's eyes met.
She flinched and averted her gaze slyly.
It was certain.
Memento Mori was backing the rebels.
They aimed to clear floors and ascend too.
Their ultimate goal: block the Five Great Families from conquering the Tower.
'I can see their game.'
Havel was an uncontrollable variable now.
Memento Mori's main force was naturally wary of him.
So they'd devised a plan.
If Havel was overwhelmingly strong, let him clear the floor and leave immediately.
Then prepare countermeasures.
If they could handle him within limits, even better.
Defeat him, clear the floor, and proceed.
From Memento Mori's perspective, it was insurance.
'That's groups for you.'
Always hedging their bets.
"What do we do?"
Elasia asked worriedly.
"I'll head to where Memento Mori wants first."
Havel turned as he spoke.
To Barutuga, who had been sitting on the floor like a loyal mutt by his side.
"You'll come with me too, Barutuga."
He'd lost even his Calamity armament to Havel, reduced to this state.
But he was still Memento Mori.
Even dog shit had its uses.
This guy might prove useful somewhere.
"Your tone's rubbing me the wrong way."
Barutuga scowled, but shut his mouth as Havel raised a fist.
Good training paid off.
"Elasia, Pyod, Owen, Merimolli—you four join the rebels."
Havel glanced at Merimolli.
She could've been backstabbed before, but not now.
Havel held her most precious puppet.
For a puppeteer, the life-bound puppet was everything.
If it broke, so would she.
She nodded obediently.
"Elasia, you're in command. Adapt as needed. Owen, supply real-time intel. Anything to throw Memento Mori off balance."
"Wait, what about me?"
Pyod pointed at himself, asking his role.
Havel just said,
"You just stick close."
He had no special expectations for him.
As Pyod pouted hurtfully,
Havel finished his orders and spoke.
"Let's move."
The first step to annihilating Memento Mori.
With Baria's rescue thrown in as a bonus.