Chapter 106

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Translator: Ryuma

Chapter: 106

Chapter Title: Lesson 23. Even If It's a Lie - 1

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Ban Yu-won looked up at the tower with deep emotion etched on his face.

Friday morning.

They were about to challenge the tower as members of Rebellion.

"Whether it's just my imagination or not, going into the tower feels like it's been ages."

"It has been three weeks, actually."

"At least there won't be any sneaky bitches gunning for Yu-won inside the tower..."

"Lucelle, watch your mouth."

It had been a while since this group had entered the tower together, but with all the recent student council and club activities forcing him to mingle with others, Ban Yu-won felt the sentiment even more profoundly.

"This lineup just hits different. Feels right."

"Says the ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠guy who ditched us yesterday to go drinking with the student council crowd."

Ban Yu-won grinned at Light, who was still stewing over the previous day's events.

"Meeting other people just makes me appreciate you guys even more."

"All talk and that silver tongue of yours... You won't have a chance to use it today, Ban Yu-won."

"Oh, right. Yeah."

Dokgo Yeon's words carried a steely resolve, reminding Ban Yu-won of what had happened three weeks prior.

In the end, they'd failed to resolve the trial in Room 23—which had unfolded purely through words—and had to bail.

Ban Yu-won blamed himself for stirring up unnecessary talk with the members, but Dokgo Yeon had taken it upon herself.

"Once we're in, we kill every enemy you judge with your own eyes. That wraps up Room 23. Everyone on board?"

"I'll follow Yu-won's lead."

"Me too... as long as no innocents die. Last time was brutal."

Dokgo Yeon's vow dripped with killing intent, Lucelle offered boundless affirmation of Ban Yu-won, and Light still couldn't view NPCs as mere programs.

Ban Yu-won flashed a wry smile at the thought that Light might not shine in NPC-heavy rooms anytime soon, then stepped into the tower with the group.

The shift kicked in, landing them directly in Room 23.

"—That bastard needs to die too!"

"But night's almost here. How about we call it for today and pick up the trial tomorrow?"

"Come on, say something. Doesn't that guy look suspicious?"

The scenery snapped into place amid the raucous voices.

The environment was identical to when they'd left—no changes whatsoever.

Yumina had explained that trick rooms, with their hyper-specific conditions and rules, didn't progress time even if you exited the tower mid-run. Still, Ban Yu-won felt a wave of relief just to confirm it.

"Everyone, calm down."

Ban Yu-won spoke up.

Corpses of the "convicted" littered the area, but astonishingly, every eye locked onto him in an instant.

It wasn't solely the power in his voice.

With each execution—criminal or innocent alike—Ban Yu-won (and the rest of the group, including Dokgo Yeon) had steadily built influence among the citizens.

The result? Now, if Ban Yu-won fingered someone as guilty, they effectively became the culprit.

"Through these unavoidable sacrifices, I've finally realized it. The perfect way to distinguish the innocent from the true killers."

"Oh, oooooh!"

"That's right. The deaths of those innocent citizens in the trials weren't in vain. Thanks to them, we can root out and execute every evil scum hiding in this city!"

Dokgo Yeon had warned him against using his tongue, but why hold back when a few words could end it all?

"So that's it! Those vile criminals used fake evidence to hang innocents!"

"And he figured out how to spot the lies!"

The deeper the brainwashing, the more they'd rationalize contradictions on their own.

And sealing it with hard evidence only made it easier...

Ban Yu-won extended his finger and unleashed Ice Bullet, the elemental spell he'd been experimenting with alongside his swordsmanship lately.

—Puk

A simple bullet-shaped chunk of ice.

Generated right at his fingertip for zero delay, and it shot straight in the direction he pointed—zero delay there too.

Elemental magic activated faster the simpler the form and targeting, so this was the pinnacle of quick, potent spells he'd devised.

Ice? Because after absorbing heaps from those frost giants last week, it was his strongest element right now.

"Wh-what?"

"He's dead!"

Rebellion members aside, no one else even caught what flew from his finger.

To them, it just looked like he'd pointed, and the guy collapsed.

The real kicker came next.

The corpse blackened, oozing thick, sticky demonic energy.

Ban Yu-won smiled in satisfaction as he confirmed the concept draining from the murderer.

Flawless speed and power from Ice Bullet, reliable good/evil detection from All-Reading Eyes, and no trick room rule violation despite the outright kill.

No need for proper interrogations—just hunt down the black ones and slaughter them. That's how to clear this room.

"See? Thanks to those who fell before, we can now pinpoint and execute only the murderers!"

"Ooooooh!"

"You've come to save our city!"

"Thank you, thank you...!"

"He must have contracted with a constellation of justice!"

Citizens who'd once threatened him warily now bowed in near-worship.

Meanwhile, the hidden criminals—constellation contractors—grew blatantly suspicious, doubting if Ban Yu-won could really spot them.

"This can't be!"

Finally.

A man with a familiar-sounding voice stepped forward and shouted.

"Judging people on whims, sacrificing innocents, now picking them off at random! Sure, that one was a murderer, but how can you be sure the next is too?!"

He remembered.

The man who was neither angel nor girl, praying solo to constellations that night when he and Dokgo Yeon infiltrated the small town.

"What do you think you're doing?"

"Back off! We need to execute all murderers before nightfall!"

"Absolutely not! No more innocent sacrifices here! Justice must be fair and upright!"

The man bared his teeth, planting himself squarely in Ban Yu-won's path.

Not that he was guilty—All-Reading Eyes showed pure white, no doubt.

Of course. A guy wandering at night on a single drug-fueled power alone couldn't be a criminal.

But Ban Yu-won figured a constellation contractor who could move at night without being a murderer wouldn't just stand by.

He'd thought right...

In that interval, Ban Yu-won fired two more Ice Bullets, dropping two murderers.

His Stigma jumped from 9.8 to 10 in a flash, solidifying its presence within him.

Not just raw power—the depth of his understanding surged too.

Instinct told him he could now "apply it to any ability."

A primal force linking all things, wholly distinct from magic.

In a way, it resonated with his own authority.

"Innocent sacrifices? You still saying that after seeing those murderers drop?"

But Stigma was Stigma—clearing Room 23 came first.

Ban Yu-won scoffed at the trembling man, who'd failed to stop two more deaths.

"You're the one obstructing justice. I don't know your sense of duty, but right now, you're endangering this city."

"You're just framing murderers with your power! For all we know, you're the killer!"

The man closed the gap, blocking Ban Yu-won's line of fire on the criminals.

Surprisingly aggravating, since the trick room forbade harming the innocent—intentional or not.

He couldn't test the limits without risking a rule break, potentially even from restraining the guy.

"Ridiculous!"

"My lord speaks! No constellation traces on him! Wake up—he's running a con!"

His sponsoring constellations mocked the foe for failing to detect traces, deeming him subpar.

But Ban Yu-won suspected otherwise.

Maybe scamming unconditional support had hidden the traces altogether...

"We have to stop him... He's a fraud!"

"You're the one meddling without helping catch the real culprits!"

"Ignore him and hunt the murderers! Night's closing in!"

"Uwaaaaaah!"

Thankfully, citizens stepped up to restrain the man in Ban Yu-won's stead.

As Ban Yu-won subtly turned toward the cowering criminals...

Vast wings of light erupted from the man's back, flinging his captors away.

His voice had transformed utterly from moments ago.

"Holy..."

The man—no, the constellation possessing him—flapped his wings resentfully and soared into the sky.

Ban Yu-won and everyone else gaped up at him in stunned silence.

The murderers, visibly tense at the constellation's arrival, were another story—their bodies looked pitch-black.

The sunset sky brightened anew with the sun's return.

"Kyaaaaak!"

"Kuhk!"

White thorns sprouted from the feet of the five-ish remaining murderers, pinning them in place while thorny vines wrapped their bodies, forming shields that blocked attacks from others.

In short: thwarting Ban Yu-won's clears.

The moment the constellation declared it, darkness descended over Ban Yu-won and his party.

All-Reading Eyes marked the entire Rebellion party as evil!

He'd guessed sin-related from the contractor's powers, but a literal "sin overseer" constellation?

Yet here it was, arbitrarily labeling sinners—hypocrite much after lecturing Ban Yu-won?

'And the real kicker.'

The guy supposedly wielding the constellation? Still pure white.

Making them the bad guys while playing saint? Outrageous.

Still, the power gave Ban Yu-won a hint.

'Handy, since I've got something similar.'

His eyes gleamed.

The 16 Judgment concepts within him blazed with mystery and stigma.

But it wasn't quite enough.

So he layered on a curse and called to Cellon.

But as Ban Yu-won began weaving the spell, another constellation chimed in.

The bound criminals melted into black, viscous slime all at once, merging into a single entity before anyone could intervene.

The voice emanated from it.

A beastly figure radiating aura rivaling the winged man—more animal than human.

Yes, a bona fide werewolf monster.

Cellon muttered, spell half-formed in bewilderment.

Ban Yu-won whispered just to her.

"Total shitshow, man. Total shitshow."