Chapter 203

Ataraxia’s resolve was firm.

He only had two choices—return to the embrace of the Dragon Clan, or serve the Great One at close range.

His attempt to incite a large-scale war between species alongside the Black Witch had failed, but if he could assist the Great One from the nearest distance, it would be an honor beyond compare.

‘Black Dragon Ataraxia. One of the Ancient Dragons representing the Tribe of Despair.’

Park Chan-woo looked down at Ataraxia in silence.

There were hierarchies even within the Dragon Clan.

Dozens of clans competed in capability as they served Dragon God Sephiro.

Among them, the Tribe of Despair was one of the top five—powerful even by Dragon Clan standards.

And an Ancient Dragon was an existence with considerable influence within a clan.

His martial prowess and wisdom were exceptional enough that even the Black Witch had employed him.

But—

‘He truly believes I am Sephiro.’

Like the Demon Merchant Dagon, Ataraxia also mistook Park Chan-woo for Dragon God Sephiro.

But Park Chan-woo wasn’t Sephiro.

He was only playing the part out of necessity, and it wouldn’t be strange for the lie to be exposed tomorrow.

The problem was what happened after that.

If Ataraxia turned on him in rage, there would be no way to stop him.

That was why Park Chan-woo hadn’t bothered keeping him close, even back in the Second Night.

‘…Still, he’ll be useful while climbing the Tower of God.’

The Tower of God.

A place that, as its name suggested, wouldn’t be ordinary.

It was the final legacy and arrangement prepared by Transcender Lil, and Chronos had already warned him it wouldn’t be easy.

Keep him close, or keep him away.

Which choice offered more benefit—and less risk?

Ataraxia watched Park Chan-woo deliberate, swallowing hard.

‘Was this too much after all…!’

Those eyes, deep as an abyss, were looking down at him.

Of course it would be absurd.

How could a mere Ancient Dragon dare claim he would follow at the Great One’s side?

Compared to Dragon God Sephiro, he was less than a firefly before the sun.

Worse—Sephiro was a destroyer who annihilated even his own kind if they opposed his will or failed to obey.

‘I’m going to die!’

He felt it instinctively.

The Great One was deciding whether to kill him.

Erasing a Dragon Clan member who spewed useless words would be effortless for Sephiro.

“I-I’m sorry…!”

“Do so.”

“…?!”

For a moment, Ataraxia thought he had misheard.

Do so?

“Ah…!”

Then he understood—and his entire body trembled with emotion.

He shouted with all his heart.

“I will serve you to the best of my ability, Great One!”

Ataraxia’s heart hammered wildly.

The greatest being in the Abyss.

He had been granted the chance to serve Dragon God Sephiro from the closest distance.

No other of his kind had achieved this.

If he could catch Sephiro’s eye and draw nearer to the Dragon God Palace, both the Tribe of Despair and his own status would soar.

‘It’s done…!’

Misfortune had turned into fortune.

His path through the Black Witch had collapsed, but in exchange, he could now serve the greatest being at his side.

“However.”

Park Chan-woo spoke again.

There was risk in keeping Ataraxia close without conditions.

Ataraxia stiffened, nervous all over again.

“Do not reveal your true form without my permission.”

“I will engrave it into my bones!”

“Do not mention my name. And any action that hinders me is forbidden.”

“Wise words!”

“Unnecessary killing is also forbidden.”

“I will not kill even an ant without your command!”

Ataraxia accepted every condition with fervor, almost ecstatic.

If an Ancient Dragon behaved like this, it went without saying what Sephiro’s status was within the Dragon Clan.

A god.

An absolute faith.

‘But why…?’

A question suddenly surfaced.

If they had been so desperate to follow Sephiro—

‘Why didn’t he stop us properly in the alley leading to the Dragon God Palace?’

The Final Suicide Squad.

Even if they were the strongest humans, facing the entire Dragon Clan was impossible.

The Dragon God Palace was where their god resided.

The Suicide Squad had climbed there to kneel before Sephiro and beg him to save humanity.

Humanity had been willing to survive even as Sephiro’s pet.

It was miserable, but they believed it was the only way.

Yet the journey toward the Dragon God Palace had been easier than expected.

In the end, they were annihilated—but Ataraxia was certain that if the Dragon Clan had truly intended to stop them, they never would have reached it at all.

‘Did they clear the way on purpose?’

‘Or was there discord between the Dragon Clan and Sephiro?’

The more he thought back, the more strange details surfaced.

There were things he could only see now, with room to breathe.

‘It felt like the Dragon Clan was deployed according to the Suicide Squad’s level of power.’

And so only he had managed to reach the Dragon God Palace alone—

only after everyone else had been wiped out.

To the Dragon Clan, the Suicide Squad’s level should have been laughable.

‘…I’ll know when I climb the Dragon God Palace again.’

Of course, next time he wouldn’t be climbing to beg for salvation.

He would climb to display martial prowess that surpassed Dragon God Sephiro.

Squeeze!

Park Chan-woo clenched his fist.

‘Wait for me, Sephiro.’

—

—Tower of God?

—What is that?

—What are the Transcenders up to!

Countless questions flooded the Creator Community.

The many towers that had erupted across Earth stirred the Demon Lords.

The Tower of God, appearing alongside the manifestation of the Transcendent Abyss across various regions of Earth—

this kind of intervention by the Transcenders was unprecedented.

They never left their own territory.

Building towers in another world?

No one had seen anything like it.

—…I heard it’s a tower brought from the Creator’s Realm.

—That’s impossible!

—Does the Creator’s Realm really exist?

—That’s a realm of nothingness, where nothing exists.

—No one knows its location.

Creator’s Realm.

The Creators knew the name, too.

But opinions were divided—where it was, or whether it even existed.

But if—

if that tower truly originated in the Creator’s Realm…

—I’m curious.

—It’s a tower made in the name of a god.

—It’s clearly not ordinary.

—It may contain the secrets of the Abyss… the truth.

—Maybe we can become Creators….

The Tower of God was irresistible to all beings of the Abyss.

Even the Demon Lords didn’t know every secret within it.

And the idea of reaching the top and becoming a god was too tempting to ignore.

It meant rebirth—into a Demon King, a Demon God, or something beyond even that.

But they couldn’t climb the Tower of God directly.

Because the Tower of God had appeared on Earth.

A Creator was forbidden from manifesting directly in another world.

The disadvantages outweighed the advantages.

—I’ll need an Incarnation.

—I need to create a stronger Incarnation.

—…Earth is a world that’s unknowable in many ways.

Recently, every “miracle” had been happening on Earth.

Earthlings, so weak they should have been insignificant, were achieving feats that even the strongest species struggled to replicate.

And once again—

why had the Tower of God appeared only on Earth?

But there was no time to dwell on it.

Without exception, the Creators began focusing on creating Incarnations on Earth.

—

As the Tower of God rose across different regions of Earth, people climbed it without hesitation.

The rumor that you could become a god if you reached the top—

even if it wasn’t true, it was obvious great rewards awaited those who climbed.

The problem was that it wasn’t only humans and demons paying attention to the Tower of God.

“…So this is Earth.”

“Setting aside the commotion, it’s pathetic.”

“Do we really need to step in personally and confirm it?”

Three figures stood before a Tower of God.

Their faces combined the features of dragons and horses. Massive horns jutted from the center of their foreheads, and golden fur fluttered around them.

They stood upright on two legs, wrapped in long, ornate robes.

Neither human nor demon, but a third species.

“The Kirin King is interested. Our job is to obey.”

“But isn’t it illegal to invade before the Species Wars even begin?”

“The order is to handle it discreetly. Quietly.”

They were the Kirin Clan.

One of the Twelve Species—and the most mysterious of them all.

Invading a world before the Species Wars violated the laws of the Abyss, but as long as they weren’t caught, it could be ignored.

The Tower of God was simply that enticing.

Perhaps not only them—perhaps other Twelve Species had also slipped into Earth in secret.

But their goal wasn’t to reach the top.

“We retrieve our Tradition as quickly as possible.”

“The Kirin Clan’s Tradition is in a place like this…?”

“If the King is interested, it won’t be an ordinary Tradition.”

The three nodded.

At the same time, their appearances shifted into human forms.

Then the three Kirin began climbing the Tower of God.

—

After escaping Ahetta’s laboratory and returning to Earth, Park Chan-woo drew a deep breath.

It felt like coming home after a long absence.

So much had happened in such a short time.

But the respite was brief.

“Come out.”

Someone was inside the house.

He detected the hidden presence immediately—yet it puzzled him.

Had his identity been exposed?

His name had been known in the Third Night. They could have tracked him down.

“I’ll do it.”

Ataraxia, summoned at his side, raised a hand.

Whoosh!

As if plucking up a doll, the hidden figure was sucked into Ataraxia’s grasp.

“Cough! Cough!”

“There was a bug hiding. How should I deal with it?”

Ataraxia asked, gripping the person by the throat.

But Park Chan-woo frowned the moment he saw the man’s face.

“Kim Byung-han?”