101
101 ― How can this be so divided
Armies of monsters clash against each other. Even though they were called armies, there was no orderly formation like a real military force.
A frenzied melee battle. Friend or foe couldn't be distinguished properly, so they just killed whatever existed in front of them and pressed forward.
They weren't even ordinary living creatures.
Both sides were monsters that had been devoured by their Lords and absorbed by Erosion. Even if they bled and died right away, they would simply be recovered by Erosion again.
And from the shadows of Erosion, new monsters would appear and join the battle.
Both sides endlessly pushed out monsters in a war of attrition.
'They're not being pushed back as much as I thought.'
It was more of a tug-of-war than originally expected.
There was the fact that this side had quite a lot of forces, and also.
'They're charging frantically toward the light.'
Surprisingly, the monsters from the God of Light's side were more ferocious than those of the God of War.
Whenever a point of light appeared on the battlefield, they would charge toward it frantically. Forgetting everything else, desperately as if that alone was salvation.
If anything blocked their path, whether enemy or ally, they would smash through it and rush toward that single point of light, looking like people in hell pushing others down to grab a rope lowered from above.
"What kind of training did they put them through?"
[Isn't it efficient?]
"Well, that's true, but..."
That light wasn't just any light, but a blessing he bestowed. Using it minimally to drive the monsters into a frenzy was efficient, if you could call it that.
It just didn't look very pleasant. What kind of world were they in, and what kind of reality were they seeing?
As expected of a Lord. Just because one used the power of light as their source didn't necessarily make them good.
For now, it was a cooperative relationship, but he couldn't let his guard down about how long this relationship would last.
"Are those Hunters over there?"
The fact that his allies weren't being pushed back significantly was also due to the Hunters' activities.
No one was jumping into the middle of the great combat where friend and foe couldn't be distinguished, but there were those active on the relatively less chaotic outskirts.
They mainly hunted monsters that had separated from the pack and stored their corpses in their inventories.
The sight of them taking what they could actually felt reassuring. If they didn't have that level of skill and awareness, they wouldn't have become 3rd floor Hunters in the first place.
"Hm? That person is..."
Then he saw a familiar face. No, he couldn't actually see the face.
What was visible was only flames, with no physical form visible to the naked eye. It was Kurenai Masato.
He didn't participate in the chaotic melee but took down monsters one by one from outside the group. Where he passed, only monsters remained, collapsing while scattering blood, with no one else in sight.
"Jin-woo?"
When Jin-woo found him, he seemed to sense the gaze and discovered this direction. Then he lightly stamped his foot and approached Jin-woo's side.
"It's been a while. Have you been well?"
"Various things have happened. It seems you haven't had it easy either."
"I never expected the 3rd floor to suddenly become like this. Hm? What's that beside you?"
Kurenai discovered the light floating beside Jin-woo. At first, he looked at it with curiosity, but soon his voice lowered.
"It's quite a familiar aura... Isn't that the power of the God of Light?"
How should he explain this? When Jin-woo glanced at the light, it blinked for a moment, then disappeared.
[Please just make something up.]
He apparently had no intention of having a conversation. Jin-woo heard his words and answered.
"That's correct. It's the God of Light himself. Only a connection is maintained."
[Jin-woo!]
The God of Light protested, but he had no obligation to listen to him.
Kurenai looked surprised for a moment at the spot where the light had disappeared, but not even a lingering glimmer remained.
"Come to think of it, weren't you hunting monsters after receiving the God of Light's trial?"
"I was. I never imagined the monsters I caught then would be utilized like this."
Kurenai Masato chuckled as he looked at the battlefield full of chaos.
Surely among that horde, there would be at least a handful of monsters he had killed. Should he say it was fortunate they were being put to meaningful use?
"By the way, what's your relationship with the God of Light? May I ask?"
"It's nothing difficult."
Jin-woo briefly explained what had happened.
The collapse of the God of Moonlit Forest, moving to the Castle of Light at Crow Galeo's suggestion. About the light that had followed on its own when they left that place to seek the Temple of the God of War.
There wasn't time to talk leisurely, so he only listed the key information, but Kurenai understood perfectly while even imagining the context.
"So you need to break through that horde and infiltrate?"
"Yes. At the end, there should be the divine artifacts gathered by the God of War. If we steal those and remove the God of War's influence, those monsters will disappear too and the barrier covering the 3rd floor will collapse. Will you help us?"
Jin-woo suggested that he join them as well. Kurenai thought for a moment, then expressed his intention to decline.
"I'm sorry. I have other things to do."
"Other things?"
"Personal matters. Extremely personal, but means everything to me."
Jin-woo recalled the private story he had heard from him before. Among Tokyo's assassins, he had the most powerful stealth ability, but conversely, his worry was that he couldn't control it.
Even if he couldn't remember the specific words, the context was something like that.
"You said you would look for answers in the God of Light's temple. Did you find them?"
"Not at all. Could I perhaps have a conversation with that God of Light? I'd like to ask directly."
Jin-woo asked the God of Light.
'He said so, what do you think?'
[Why should I?]
He showed no interest at all. Not only was he uninterested, but he seemed to have strong rejection and even disgust toward the very act of having a conversation.
Did he dislike talking with humans? But then he approached Jin-woo first.
"He says no."
"Hmm."
Kurenai closed his mouth as if he had expected it.
"Well, I expected that. Divine revelations aren't easily obtained. The point is that I, too, must show sincerity, right?"
"It wasn't quite that nuance..."
Even though he wanted to say more, the God of Light said nothing further. He seemed to have really tuned out.
Kurenai Masato stretched greatly, then looked at the chaotic battlefield. There were light elements appearing sporadically there—the energy the God of Light sent down to drive the monsters into frenzy.
"I understand. I'll try my effort once too. To be able to hear the god's words."
Leaving only those words, Kurenai Masato disappeared. Had he gone to catch that light, too?
Jin-woo gave a bitter smile. Though for different reasons, Kurenai Masato too had come to crave a single point of light like the monsters.
"It's hard work getting involved with a god with such a bad personality."
Then a light flashed briefly in front of Jin-woo's eyes and disappeared. There were no words, but it was definitely a light that conveyed dissatisfaction.
***
Kalesian and Mahiri, who had been scouting the opposite side, returned. He and Jin-woo put their heads together to plan an infiltration to the Temple of the God of War.
"I found several useful positions. Oh, and there were Elves over there too—shall we meet them once?"
"Let's go."
At a time when every fighting force was precious, there was no reason not to go.
On the side Kalesian had scouted, there were Elves hunting monsters like the Hunters.
They mainly shot arrows from a distance, continuing their hunt safely, but with so many monsters around, a few arrows hardly made a noticeable difference.
Even so, no one thrust themselves into that battlefield. They were reducing the number of monsters as much as possible while ensuring their safety.
"April! Rona!"
Among them were two familiar faces. Jin-woo met with them, shared what had happened, and asked for help.
"I... Think it would be difficult. I can't leave my people behind."
April declined after much consideration. It seemed she was the only one who could lead the Elves at the moment.
The Elves gathered here were individuals who had been active in the 3rd floor, not belonging to any organization as a group. There weren't many who could serve as a focal point for such people.
"I'm sorry I can't help, Master."
"It's fine. It's dangerous work, so I can't force you to come along."
If someone didn't want to go, forcing them would only be a hindrance.
What Jin-woo needed now was not only strong companions but those with firm resolve.
"I'm fine. I originally followed you to the 3rd floor to help Jin-woo anyway."
Rona readily agreed to accompany them. Since she had followed Jin-woo from the Kingdom from the beginning, there was no reason to refuse.
So the personnel heading to the Temple of the God of War were Jin-woo and Rona, plus Kalesian and Mahiri.
Considering that Kalesian and Mahiri were practically one body, there were only three people capable of combat.
Still, all three were forces that couldn't be ignored. It was definitely worth attempting.
"Kalesian. Is there a way to defend against that sword?"
"I know dozens of types of defensive magic, but I'm not sure if there's an appropriate one among them. What about you?"
"I don't really have anything either..."
Jin-woo and Kalesian looked at Rona in unison, but she shook her head too.
"I don't know either. I'm just a body that only knows how to swing a sword."
Would this work? Charging in this state would be no different from becoming a moth rushing into flames without a plan.
"But we can't just stay here. If we can't settle this here, we won't be able to do anything more."
That was right. They were managing to fight for now, but it was clear that the God of Light's side would be pushed back over time.
After that, the God of War would advance with the remaining forces to attack the Temple of the God of Light and obtain one more divine artifact there.
If that happened, the 3rd floor would be completely occupied by him. And all those currently trapped would fall to become his slaves.
"Let's go."
Even if it seemed hopeless, they couldn't just leave it alone.
Above all, no matter how many days they put their heads together, no countermeasure against that sword would emerge anyway.
Even the God of Light had shaken his head, saying there was no clear method.
In the end, they had no choice but to somehow avoid it and steal the divine artifact first.
The party, understanding the situation, infiltrated the battlefield through the infiltration route Kalesian had scouted.
They chose places with as few monsters as possible, but encounters were still unavoidable. Cutting down all such creatures, they ran toward the collapsed cliff.
Kalesian with magic, Rona with her sword. And Jin-woo, too, swung his sword to cut down the misshapen monsters.
He really seemed to swing his sword freely. Swinging the sword was enjoyable, at least. Though the situation was far from enjoyable.
Then.
"...!"
"Jin-woo!"
Not long after they had infiltrated, he began to move.
Having been quietly observing until then, upon detecting this side, he slowly raised his hand.
Just lifting the sword caused the atmosphere to shake and the surroundings to be pressed down.
Even the monsters that had been busy fighting with red eyes stopped combat and were busy fleeing. It seemed their survival instinct was stronger than their fighting instinct.
Kalesian and Rona ran with all their might in their respective directions. Jin-woo also dodged. Whatever happened, the three couldn't all be caught at once, so scattering was the best strategy.
And the sword fell toward none other than Jin-woo.
The sword that had split the Moonlit Forest along with its temple. The great sword that had also brought down the solid red cliff in an instant.
Still, perhaps because it was so massive, the speed of its descent was slow. With Jin-woo's footwork, he could still retreat and avoid it even now.
But Jin-woo drew his sword. And as if entranced, as if it were a motion ingrained in his body, he swung his sword.
The moment the two swords clashed, a completely different scenery was melted within it.
The collapsed cliff and monsters in chaotic battle were nowhere to be seen.
What was visible was an open landscape, a setting sun, and long shadows cast.
Sword met sword, and one flew away. No, they weren't even swords. Blunt swords made by roughly carving tree branches, without even sharpened edges.
—...I lost.
A small child looked at the wooden sword that had flown away and tightly closed his mouth. His hair was closely cropped silver, and his body was surprisingly solid for a child. His skin was dark, reminiscent of rough stone.
Despite training for so long, the fact that his sword couldn't reach the existence before his eyes was utterly frustrating.