Chapter 422
The God of Fall revealed his will through the pillar.
That will was acceptance.
Before long, a massive colosseum formed with the pillar at its center.
Diana stood proudly at the heart of the colosseum.
The audience seats began to fill one by one.
“There are a lot of them.”
It wasn’t dozens.
It was far more than hundreds.
It felt as if every being in this place had gathered.
“The God of Fall has filled this Model Garden with mortals since ages past. Only about a thousand are here, so in fact, it’s not that many.”
“Is this something that gathers everyone here?”
Reynald nodded.
“There are many whose spirits have been broken in this place. Even if food, clothing, and shelter are provided, despair remains unchanged. But even those people show up here without exception when the colosseum opens.”
“What exactly is this colosseum?”
“The basic use of [points] is temporary upgrades to food, clothing, and shelter. But another use is opening the Colosseum of Liberation.”
Reynald spoke quietly.
“The cost is 100 [points].”
100 points. One point per person defeated. That meant defeating a hundred people.
Everyone here was stronger than the Guides of Sin. Gathering 100 points would be incredibly difficult.
“And what do you gain by opening the colosseum under such strict conditions?”
“It’s simple. This is the Colosseum of Liberation.”
Reynald’s eyes glinted with yearning.
“The one who requests the colosseum fights an [Apostle of the God of Fall]. If they win, every soul trapped in this place is freed.”
“Freedom for the souls?”
“You get to escape this damned place and return to the outside.”
Reynald’s voice burned with heat. He clenched his fist tightly.
‘So that’s it.’
Why they still had hope in their eyes. Why they hadn’t crumbled under despair.
It was because a chance to return to the outside still remained.
The 100 points were a strict requirement, but not impossible for someone like the princess and the old man.
“Is it a winnable battle?”
“The princess has opened the colosseum multiple times. They’ve all ended in narrow defeats. But from those battles, she’s grasped the opponent’s power completely. This time… it’s possible.”
Reynald’s voice held deep hope.
Taesan turned to look at the others.
They weren’t much different. In fact, some looked even more hopeful than Reynald.
But a few wore blank expressions.
As if they had no expectations, watching a scripted performance unfold.
Taesan turned his gaze to Diana, who stood in the center of the colosseum.
With her three-bladed sword in hand, she calmly awaited her opponent.
Rumble!
The pillar began to activate.
Excitement rippled through the crowd.
Space tore open from the spinning pillar, and soon a single arm burst out.
“Whoa. Called me already? Who’s the challenger?”
The owner of the arm revealed himself.
He had taut, bronze-toned skin. His muscular upper body was bare, and with golden hair and a cocky demeanor, he looked like a man full of arrogance.
‘He’s strong.’
Taesan assessed the [Apostle]’s strength.
He was quite powerful.
Not someone Diana could defeat easily.
But not someone she couldn’t defeat either.
Victory was still within reach.
“You again?”
The Apostle groaned upon seeing Diana. Diana raised her sword.
“I’ve analyzed all of your movements and power.”
“Is that so?”
The Apostle grinned and clenched his fist.
The noisy audience fell into silence.
Diana took a perfect stance with her sword and charged. The Apostle bared his teeth and threw a punch.
Clang!
The sword and fist collided. The Apostle swung violently. Diana
moved with grace.
[Ho.]
The ghost voiced its admiration.
Diana’s movements were elegant.
Without losing her poise, she blocked every one of the Apostle’s attacks.
Vrrrm—
Diana raised her arm. The punch grazed past. She struck at the opening, and the Apostle twisted his body to dodge.
“Ooooooh!”
A roar erupted from the stands.
Diana was overwhelming the Apostle.
Their hope of returning to the outside was growing stronger.
Without wavering, Diana pressed the Apostle. She thrust her sword. The Apostle blocked, but she didn’t stop. Her speed gradually increased.
The accelerating sword created afterimages, splitting into dozens of streaks.
“An advanced version of [Continuous Strike], huh?”
As someone who had escaped the Tower, no [skill activation window] appeared.
But the effects were somewhat predictable.
Each of those afterimages carried a physical presence.
“I’ve seen this before!”
The Apostle laughed, channeling all his strength into a punch.
A thick and deep energy formed a massive fist.
He launched it.
That was an immense force of concentration. In contrast, the sword’s afterimages were fragmented. It looked like they would shatter on contact.
But Diana pulled her sword back sharply and thrust forward.
The dozens of split swords converged into one.
Vrrrrrm!
“Grrrgh!”
The sword pierced the massive fist and struck the Apostle’s hand.
Though he quickly pulled away, a deep wound was left on his fist.
“I told you—I’ve analyzed all your power!”
Diana’s eyes gleamed as she charged again.
[She’s strong.]
The ghost murmured in awe.
[As much as I hate to admit it, her swordsmanship’s on another level from mine. At this rate, she might actually win.]
Rumble!
The Apostle swung his fist furiously.
He wasn’t easily overwhelmed. He
pressed Diana, landing some unpredictable strikes.
But Diana responded calmly, countering every blow.
The power difference wasn’t large. Whoever knew their opponent better would win.
And Diana had analyzed the Apostle near-perfectly.
Everyone here was powerful in their own right. They knew this too. The anticipation and hope grew stronger.
[If this continues, you might clear the quest without doing anything. Even if she fails, you should be able to win easily, right? Is this the quest’s clear condition?]
The ghost spoke. The Apostle was on par with Diana, and Taesan was clearly above her.
If Taesan gathered 100 points and opened the colosseum, he would win for sure.
But Taesan’s eyes dimmed.
Spending 100 points to open the colosseum. Defeating a god’s Apostle would lead to freedom.
He had a guess why the God of Fall allowed such a possibility.
The God of Fall didn’t want those trapped in the Model Garden to give up hope and fall into despair.
He was a god who delighted in seeing mortals rise high only to crash down.
This colosseum was a device for that fall.
Clang!
The Apostle was pushed back. Diana caught her breath. Her body was drenched in sweat, but her expression was bright.
Victory was still within reach.
It would be a long fight, but as long as she didn’t make a mistake, she could win.
Even the Apostle admired her.
“Impressive. No one’s pushed me this far so quickly. You were worth Essence’s choice.”
“Right? I’ll make you regret using me.”
“No.”
The Apostle grinned.
“That won’t happen.”
He charged.
And Taesan saw it.
A flow of power that no one else could see—something only someone who had reached the realm of immortality could perceive.
Something new had awakened inside the Apostle.
He threw a punch.
Boom!
“Guh!”
Diana, who blocked the punch, staggered from the force. A dark red energy swirled around the Apostle’s body.
“There was still hidden power?!”
Reynald cried out. Judging by their reaction, the dark red power wasn’t something seen in previous colosseums. Diana, barely regaining her stance, forced a smile.
“…I hadn’t seen that power before.”
“I never needed to use it. The time limit is short, and the penalty is large. But it’s enough to take down a tired you!”
The Apostle bared his teeth.
But Taesan knew.
That power wasn’t originally the Apostle’s.
It had been created mid-battle.
‘So victory was never actually possible.’
The Apostle was Diana’s equal. If she analyzed him and didn’t make mistakes, she could win.
Or so it seemed.
But in reality, if the battle dragged on, somehow, new power would awaken in the Apostle.
Surely it was the God of Fall’s design. Even if they were strong, they were still mortals. They couldn’t detect a transcendent’s trick.
The newly acquired power completely shifted the tide of battle.
Even if they somehow overcame that, the Apostle would likely gain another new power.
The colosseum was nothing more than a false hope.
“How unfortunate. Keep clinging to that empty hope and try again next time.”
The Apostle mocked Diana, his face full of joy. Diana’s pupils widened.
She fought desperately to hold on, but she had already used up most of her strength. The Apostle’s attacks started landing.
The once-hyped crowd fell cold. The Apostle, wearing a twisted smile, drove his fist into Diana’s stomach.
—
Diana was defeated.
People despaired. The more they believed victory was possible, the more crushed they felt.
But that despair didn’t last long.
“What a shame.”
“But we learned about that new power. We can beat him next time.”
Their logic wasn’t entirely wrong. Shortly after Diana was defeated, the dark red energy vanished. If she had lasted just a little longer, she might’ve regained the upper hand.
That is, assuming the God of Fall wasn’t intervening.
They clung to hope again and scattered.
“It’s a shame… but at least we learned something new. I’ll be challenging soon myself. I need to start thinking about a strategy.”
Reynald wasn’t much different from the others.
Taesan asked him,
“Where is Diana?”
“She’s dead right now, so she’ll resurrect after a day. She’s probably resting in the highest room in the village. After all that effort, she deserves at least a day off.”
“I see.”
“Yeah. So what are you going to do now? If you want, you can join me and the princess and—”
Reynald trailed off, startled.
Taesan had vanished.
And he hadn’t even sensed him leave.
“…How?”
A bewildered voice echoed.
—
A day later, Taesan arrived at the village and sought out Diana.
He knocked on an ornate door, and a small voice replied.
“Come in.”
Creak.
As he entered, he saw Diana sitting on the bed. Her face lit up when she saw him.
“Oh my. Mr. Taesan. Welcome.”
Taesan entered silently.
Diana wore an apologetic expression.
“I’m sorry. I said we could return, but in the end, I lost so miserably.”
“It doesn’t matter. It was never winnable in the first place.”
“…What?”
Diana froze.
Taesan stared at her blankly.
“Maybe others don’t know, but you realized it, didn’t you? That the colosseum is just false hope.”
When the Apostle used the dark red power—
Diana’s expression had been different from the others.
She looked more resigned than surprised, as if she’d expected him to unleash something new.
“Well, anyone who thinks a little could figure it out. There’s no way the God of Fall would truly free anyone. Most people forget that—or maybe they’re choosing to ignore it. But not you.”
In the stands, there were people who showed no emotion.
Even when Diana lost, their expressions didn’t change.
Their common trait was that they were all powerful—close to the boundary.
They had probably opened the colosseum multiple times. And realized it could never be won.
“But unlike them, you haven’t given up.”
Diana understood that it was unwinnable.
But she hadn’t let go of her hope to escape.
More precisely, she seemed desperate. She wanted to leave the Tower no matter what.
“Is there something out there worth all this?”
“…Why are you asking that?”
Her voice was quiet. Diana’s killing intent was aimed at Taesan.
Taesan brushed it aside as if it were nothing.
“Simple. You might be one of the reasons I’m here.”
“One of the reasons?”
“Beldenkia. Do you know that name?”
Diana’s eyes widened, her killing intent vanishing.
“How do you know that name…?”
“Knew it.”
Diana’s mannerisms, her way of speaking, even her appearance—
They matched the description Beldenkia had given. He had been unsure at first, but he confirmed it after seeing her fighting style.
“Beldenkia is looking for you. He made a contract with a [mage] and settled in the Tower for that purpose. I came here to rescue you, Princess of the Mage.”