Meet the Guardians
"Let me introduce the guardians of our home."
Tricia's friends and companions.
And the floor managers who had now taken on the new title of Guardians.
One by one, they began to make their appearance.
"Hey there~ My name is... well, just call me Luki!"
The first guardian to appear was Inabakh Levitein Luki.
Instead of her usual bunny girl outfit, she caught everyone's eye in an elegantly tailored red dress.
"H-Hieeeek...!"
The moment Kim Ha-cheong recognized her, he reflexively hid behind Crow.
And for good reason—she was the very source of his trauma.
Yet Luki paid him no mind, casually scratching the chin of a beast.
A monster with the body of a tiger and the head of a rabbit—a "Tiger-Rabbit"—was growling fiercely at the delegation.
"This little guy has a habit of biting people whenever someone screams and startles him. So, you know, watch yourselves, okay?"
"..."
Even with the change of clothes, her signature sly, provocative tone remained entirely unchanged.
While the delegation tensed up, the second guardian made her appearance.
"■■■■■—"
It was an enigmatic entity whose very shape was ambiguous.
A snake's eyes, dragon's wings, insect's legs, a penguin's beak, octopus tentacles, and an elephant's trunk all attached to a slime-like body...
A horrific chimera pieced together from the fragments of countless creatures.
The slime constantly churned and shifted, grotesquely blending the traits of various animals.
Beholding this, Seo Ryuin muttered in a trembling voice.
"...King Steamed Bun...?"
Because it bore a striking resemblance to the gentle, squishy slime that had served her a warm meal just a few hours ago.
Ryuin began to deny reality, telling herself there was no way that soft, cuddly slime could look like that.
She utterly refused to believe this horrific truth.
But in the next moment, the slime spoke in a bizarre voice from between its tentacles, which parted like a mouth.
"My... name... is... Gluttony..."
"Glut... tony...?"
While the rest of the delegation, save for Crow, shrank back in terror,
"Thank goodness... It wasn't Steamed Bun..."
Ryuin let out a massive sigh of relief, deeply comforted by the fact that this monster was a completely different slime.
Watching her reaction, Gluttony thought to itself:
*Whoops... That was a close one!*
...Yes, that slime was indeed King Steamed Bun.
It had simply shown a bit of consideration to preserve Ryuin's precious, wholesome memories.
Soon after, the third guardian made her appearance.
"My name is Flora Fireseed. Please be careful, as I am quite hot."
A female fiend whose entire body was composed of blazing fire.
She was a "hot woman" in a way that completely transcended the usual idiom—she was physically, literally scorching.
Flora carefully seated herself on a divine alloy chair prepared especially for her.
Though the chair was crafted from a special alloy infused with Tricia's divine power, it was still minutely melting under her heat.
"..."
Fear slowly began to seep into the expressions of the delegation.
However, the true terror was only just beginning—
The fourth guardian walked out with a seductive smile.
"My name is Azmo Lilysis. I am the queen who rules over the succubi. Did you enjoy your time on the 39th floor? ♡"
At the mention of the Succubus Queen, three men in the delegation flinched simultaneously and began casting nervous glances around.
This time, Lilysis showed a form close to her true self, rather than an appearance tailored to the observer's desires.
Of course, even if it was her true form, her appearance was highly malleable, so one couldn't definitively say this was her absolute true self.
As a side note, it was an open secret that when Luki saw Lilysis's transformed state an hour ago, she had muttered, "Ugh, she's spoiled..." and almost got obliterated by a Demon King Death Beam. (?)
Then, the fifth guardian appeared.
This time, it was a knight clad head-to-toe in a black alloy suit.
He turned toward the delegation, pointed a single finger at them, and spoke.
"My name is Endor. I look forward to working with you."
The voice was a rigid, synthesized mechanical tone, distinctly non-human.
A figure truly fitting the title of "Guardian."
While everyone held their breath and stared, Crow alone felt a sense of incongruity.
*At a glance, they seem full of openings, but in reality, there are none. And that stance is definitely...*
Crow recalled the person he had sparred with just a few hours ago on the 49th floor, the Fighting Colosseum.
And he was certain.
The identity of the person inside that suit was none other than—Asahina Yurining!
In truth, Yurining was wearing a full-body suit powered by mana, putting on a grand display of dignity while using a cool voice modulator!
Ordinarily, he might have informed the delegation of this fact immediately.
But Crow was a bit different today.
The "secret conversation" he had shared with Tricia in private right after his spar with Yurining two hours ago was still vivid in his mind.
Perhaps because of that,
Crow remained remarkably composed, as if he already had a good idea of what was about to unfold.
*...For now, it's best to keep quiet.*
Recalling the "secret promise" he had made with Tricia, he maintained his silent vigil.
As Endor took his seat, the sixth guardian revealed herself.
A woman wearing a terrifying mask resembling a ram's skull began to chant words that sounded like an ancient incantation.
"Descendant of the Sun God, Dancer with the Rocks, Slayer of the Evil God, Mother of the World Tree... You may call me 'Jua Jiwe' for short."
After rattling off a string of magnificent epithets, she revealed her name and sat down.
Needless to say... it was Ju Ji-ye, the Outstanding Floor Manager of the Month.
As a side note, she had wanted to include that title in her list of epithets, but Tricia had nagged her out of it.
Immediately after, the seventh guardian showed himself.
A half-human, half-skeleton undead dressed in a crisp, tailored suit.
"I am Zergos, the Judge of Death."
His introduction was brief, but his presence carried more weight than anyone else's.
Since he possessed the power to pronounce "death" equally upon all, he had no need for superfluous embellishments.
As the guardians filled the seats one by one, the delegation began to buckle under the sheer, crushing pressure.
Tricia, observing the delegation closely, smiled and spoke.
"Are the guardians perhaps a bit too scary? You aren't paralyzed with fear, are you?"
"W-Well, that's..."
"Don't worry. The remaining two guardians aren't scary at all. In fact, they're actually quite cute."
"Ah...! Thank you so much!"
Seo Ryuin, who had been dying to run away out of sheer terror, bowed her head with genuine gratitude.
It wasn't exactly a situation that called for gratitude, but what could she do? The hope that nothing else terrifying would appear had naturally transformed into thankfulness.
Just as she managed to compose herself,
the eighth guardian appeared—
"Hic—!"
...Not scary?
...Not scary at all?!
Terror struck the moment she let her guard down.
Faced with something that completely defied human comprehension, Ryuin was so utterly shocked that she began to hiccup.
An anomalous, distorted entity that did not belong to reality, its entire body glitching like corrupted data.
The entity opened what assumedly was its mouth and began to speak, but...
"...Pardon?"
Ryuin couldn't understand a single word it was saying.
An incomprehensible, alien tongue that couldn't be translated even by the Interpretation skill automatically acquired upon awakening as a Climber.
Tricia, carefully studying the delegation's reactions, asked again.
"Could you... not hear him very well?"
"...We are terribly sorry. Even with our Interpretation skill, we cannot translate it..."
"Then I'll tell you instead. That guardian's name is Rudiel Shephid. He possesses the ability to manipulate space."
Tricia smoothly translated Shephid's words and conveyed them to the delegation.
*Though, in truth, Shephid hadn't actually said anything.*
Of course—this was all an act!
If they had thought about it rationally, they might have concluded that since the Interpretation skill didn't work, it wasn't a proper language to begin with.
But the delegation, already paralyzed by fear, had no mental leeway to make such a judgment.
They say you can survive even in a tiger's den if you keep your wits about you, but the atmosphere here was far beyond the comfort of such proverbs.
An overwhelming dread, so immense that comparing it to a tiger would be an insult, weighed heavily upon the meeting room.
Kim Ha-cheong was on the verge of fainting, and Seo Ryuin was trembling with terror.
Even Black Tiger and Yoon Seo-jin, who were among the older members, couldn't hide their fear in the presence of such beings.
Im Heon-beop was excluded, as his mental state had already completely shattered before even arriving here.
The only person in the delegation who maintained an utterly fearless demeanor was Crow.
True to someone who had faced the Silence of the Deep Night without flinching, he possessed a courage that transcended human limits.
Yet Tricia was smiling mischievously to herself.
She was eager to see how even Crow would react when he witnessed "that"—the grand finale of this Guardian assembly.
"Now, it is time to introduce our final guardian."
"..."
"Ah, just in case, let me warn you beforehand... try not to be too shocked, okay?"
Tricia sent a signal with a hand gesture, a playful smirk on her face.
And then—
...
...
...
...Nothing happened.
"...?"
Thinking the signal hadn't been received properly, Tricia raised her hand once more.
...
But still, there was no response.
"...Fufu, Ninth Guardian, it's about time for you to make your entrance, don't you think?"
Left with no choice, Tricia called out to the guardian directly.
At the same time, she secretly opened the system interface and sent a message out of the delegation's sight.
...
Even so, there was only silence.
"..."
An awkward silence stretched for a moment.
Sensing that something had gone terribly wrong, Tricia called for her butler.
"Butler."
"Yes, Lady Tricia."
"Where is Sian right now?"
"He is currently asleep."
"Ah, seriously."
Once again, Sian Nightmare was fast asleep.
"Shall I wake him?"
"No, just let him sleep."
Tricia could have had him woken up and brought here immediately, but she decided it wasn't strictly necessary.
In truth, Sian had been exceptionally busy today.
First, when Kim Ha-cheong fell asleep at the Milky Way Hotel, Sian had entered his dreams to read a few of his memories and report them to Tricia.
Afterward, he had even taken charge of manipulating the memories of three delegation members alongside Lilysis.
As a result, Sian had completely exhausted his energy for the day and had returned to his room to fall into a deep slumber.
And naturally, the heavy, bloodthirsty atmosphere that had filled the meeting room just moments ago had completely evaporated.
"Uh..."
Faced with this unexpected turn of events, Tricia scratched her cheek awkwardly, her gaze blankly shifting between the guardians and the delegation.
The surrounding guardians, equally dumbfounded, stared at Tricia with subtle, exasperated expressions.
The members of the delegation also had no idea what to do, merely exchanging bewildered glances.
An awkward silence that felt as though it would last forever dragged on.
But someone had to salvage the situation.
Tricia stood up with a solemn expression, extending both hands forward as she declared:
"Then... shall we begin? This unprecedented summit born of the intersection between this tower and the human world. Let us forge a treaty here today that will alter the course of destiny and history—"
"Lady Tricia?"
"What?"
"The delegation members haven't even sat down yet."
"Ah."
Tricia had almost forced the summit to proceed while keeping the entire delegation standing!
Thanks to Ju Ji-ye's timely intervention, the delegation members—who had been standing this entire time—were finally guided to their seats by the maids and the butler.
With the atmosphere of the summit now completely derailed,
Tricia gave up on trying to salvage it. She rested her chin on her hand, let out a deep sigh, and spoke.
"Let's just get this started, shall we? Anyone, feel free to speak first."
With a look of utter annoyance, Tricia tossed the floor over to the delegation.
At that, every single member of the delegation turned their eyes toward Seo Ryuin.
Indeed.
She was the only one present who held special diplomatic authority from the government!
*...How on earth am I supposed to start talking in this situation...?*
The delegation hadn't even properly introduced themselves yet!
But if she insisted on starting with introductions now?
It might be seen as directly defying the Tower Administrator's command to "just get this started"!
*This suffocating summit... I'm going to finish it as quickly as possible and get the hell out of here...!*
Suppressing her urge to burst into tears, Seo Ryuin pulled out the diplomatic document she had received from the government.