Chapter 723
Bubble bubble bubbl…
From the rotting swamp, thick green bubbles rose to the surface.
“Kuaaak!”
“Kieee!”
Fish and various other creatures never seen before preyed on one another, creating a bizarre Demon Realm.
Right then.
Thud! Thud! Thud!
Footsteps heavy enough to shake the earth echoed out.
The clamorous swamp was instantly swallowed by silence.
An overwhelming presence shook the entire space.
“Grrrr….”
A low, rumbling growl.
Countless tentacles hung from a body over 100 meters tall.
At the end of each tentacle, a single eye blinked as it ceaselessly scanned its surroundings.
If it noticed you, it was over.
That was the shared thought of every lifeform present here.
Fortunately, the colossal being did not seem particularly interested in the swamp. It simply continued onward, following a faint sense of incongruity.
And finally, when that being disappeared beyond the mist.
Plop.
“Hiiik….”
Cheongha collapsed to the ground as her legs gave out beneath her.
Even though she had not made a single sound while hiding behind the tree, she felt as if every last cell in her body had been exposed.
“That was close.”
Jinhyuk wiped the cold sweat from his forehead as well.
What had just passed them was a [Sograntu].
A type of Boundary Guard that protected Azathoth’s Palace.
Every single one of those creatures possessed immense combat power, but the real problem was that the moment even one of them detected an intruder, the entire palace would enter a combat state.
Naturally, high-ranking Divine Beings like Shub-Niggurath and Nyarlathotep would sense the intruder’s presence as well.
It would not be an exaggeration to say their deaths would be confirmed on the spot.
“Y-you’re really going in there? Even among us, entering the 50th floor is a taboo among taboos.”
“Really? Then do you want to stay here by yourself?”
Jinhyuk grinned.
“Kroooar!”
“Keeeek!”
Crunch! Squelch! Crunch!
The moment the Sograntu vanished, the swamp’s ecosystem sprang back to life. Blood and flesh splattered everywhere as the law of the jungle, of devouring and being devoured, dyed the entire area red.
“…I’ll come. Please let me come with you.”
Cheongha nodded at a speed so fast it was almost invisible.
From the start, this pitiful Cat Tribe girl had never had a choice.
“From here on, we’re moving underwater. Put this in your mouth and you’ll be able to breathe. Don’t spit it out, don’t swallow it by mistake, and stay close.”
Jinhyuk handed her a snail shell with three openings.
[[Tribune Snail], [Deep Valley Moss], and [Atrapas Fish Lung] are being fused!]
A trait that changed not only breathing, but even one’s very presence into that of a swamp-dwelling creature.
An effect that appeared only when all three were fused together at once.
Cheongha hated the thought of entering that heavy, murky swamp, but it was still better than dying. So she followed Jinhyuk into the water.
The moment they entered, the lifeforms in the swamp reacted to the presence of something that had inserted itself into the top of the food chain.
“Kroooar!”
East, west, south, north.
A crocodile with a mouth split into four instantly spotted its prey.
A maw the size of a house lunged at Cheongha.
“Uuup!”
Cheongha flailed all four limbs desperately. But no matter how agile a member of the Cat Tribe might be, she could not outrun a crocodile in the water.
Especially not one that lived on the 50th floor.
Instead, Jinhyuk stepped forward.
[Unique Ability: Call of the Storm is activated!]
Swish swish swish swish swish!
A fierce whirlpool exploded through the water.
Inside the violently splitting currents, Jinhyuk’s sword flashed.
“The fact that you can survive here at all is impressive.”
But.
“You should at least know how to tell predator from prey.”
Since when did something not even on the level of a Divine Being step forward without knowing its place?
Crunch! Splatter!
The swamp crocodile’s body was shredded apart by the whirlpool.
Etching into the swamp creatures exactly who stood above them was merely a bonus.
The swamp creatures withdrew from Jinhyuk, setting aside their hostility.
“H-he’s this strong…?”
Cheongha’s eyes widened into perfect circles.
At the same time, the way she looked at Jinhyuk changed, if only slightly.
===
At the same time.
Elsewhere on the 50th floor, another variable was unfolding.
Inside a room filled with multicolored thorns and crystals, four shadows were cast.
JJ and 1Person2Chickens.
Sleeper Owl.
Sae Yeong-eon-hwan.
They were Operators who moved to protect the balance of the Tower and correct the distorted world.
“We’ve finally made it here.”
1Person2Chickens cast a recovery spell, barely managing to steady their staggering body.
It had been a dangerous journey.
So dangerous that even Operators had been forced to risk their lives.
It could not be helped, as this place was commonly known as the [Gate of Infinity].
To be precise, they were inside the body of Yog-Sothoth, one of the Ancient Divine Beings. That being was both a Divine Being and, at the same time, the Gatekeeper itself.
“We need to get out as fast as possible. If we stay here too long, we’ll end up trapped forever too.”
JJ chimed in as well.
They were already pushing [System Manipulation], the Operators’ unique authority, to its absolute limit. The moment they achieved their goal, they would need to head straight for the prepared escape route.
Sleeper Owl and Sae Yeong-eon-hwan nodded in agreement.
Somewhere in this place was the [Pillar of Dimensions].
A Hidden Piece capable of sealing away the beings of the 50th floor. If they could secure that alone, it would create an opportunity to greatly alter the future landscape.
With only about an hour remaining, they had to hurry.
But right then.
“Wouldn’t it be a little too unfair if the great Operators got their hands on such a Cheat Item?”
An unexpected voice cut in.
“…!?”
“…!!”
The Operators reacted instantly.
It was not only because the voice had pierced straight through their weak point, but because their bodies had instinctively widened the distance between them and it.
It had not been intentional.
Their bodies had moved on their own, driven by an indescribably ominous and foreboding aura.
“Who’s there?!”
1Person2Chickens lashed their whip toward the source of the voice.
Swish swish swish swish swish…!
The thorn-covered whip split a crystal in half.
But the instant it was about to reach the speaker, it was blocked by something invisible.
Twang!
The deflected whip flew right back toward 1Person2Chickens.
“Attacking right away. Looks like you were pretty startled.”
“You….”
As The Man emerged from the shadows, Sleeper Owl’s expression changed drastically.
The so-called The Man.
There was almost no information on him, and his identity could not be specified, but among the Irregulars whose Status Windows were completely hidden even from the Operators, he was an Irregular among Irregulars.
…Perhaps a variable even more dangerous than Azathoth.
An uncontrolled existence could threaten not only Jinhyuk, but the Tower of Trials itself.
He had to be stopped.
“Actually, this works out well. If we kill that guy here, then Jinhyuk can deal with everything else, right?”
“Right. That guy already surpassed Azathoth and reached the Summit of the Tower once.”
“I agree. More importantly, there probably won’t be another stage with conditions this favorable for a fight.”
There were four Operators gathered here.
Moreover, since they had prepared for the possibility of fighting the upper Ancient Divine Beings, they had brought along matching Sacred Relics and Hidden Pieces.
No matter how monstrous their opponent was, even one who led hostile Operators, there was no way he could stand against all of that alone.
Shling!
Thwack!
Huum!
Various weapons emerged from subspace.
All of them were top-tier Sacred Relics of Purple Grade.
“Starting a fight without even having a conversation? For something that feels like a final battle stage, isn’t this a little bleak?”
The Man shrugged.
Despite the four Operators openly revealing their hostility, not the slightest trace of tension could be felt from him.
“Conversation, you say….”
Sae Yeong-eon-hwan repeated the words.
“Then can you tell us who you are?”
“Going straight for the deepest part from the beginning. Aren’t you trying to peek at the final hidden card without offering anything in return?”
A conversation could not happen without cost.
To gain one thing, you had to give up one thing.
Sae Yeong-eon-hwan’s mind began moving rapidly.
If they could learn The Man’s identity. No, even if they only got the smallest hint….
That alone could hold value beyond even securing a Hidden Piece here.
“What do we need to pay?”
“Hmm. For something like that, wouldn’t you need to offer something pretty valuable? For example… Alice.”
“The head of the Ataraxia Family…?”
“Yeah. Personally, she’s my type. I really want to add her to my collection.”
“That would be difficult for us to grant. She’s a comrade Jinhyuk values dearly, after all.”
Sae Yeong-eon-hwan shook his head from side to side as if troubled.
“What a shame. Then the negotiation has broken down.”
The Man briefly clicked his tongue.
On the surface, it looked like a conversation where they gained nothing, but Sae Yeong-eon-hwan thought differently.
‘Is Alice the key?’
The Man appeared to manipulate everything as he pleased, but even for a being like him, there was clearly still something he had not yet obtained.
Alice von Ataraxia.
Perhaps she played a far more important role than simply being a powerful True Ancestor.
Sae Yeong-eon-hwan continued.
“A shame for us as well. Then from here on out, I’ll just be talking to myself, so would you mind listening?”
“Planning to judge things by my reaction? That sounds fun too. Go ahead. Try it.”
“At first, I thought you were Unknown’s data. Because nothing else should have made something like this possible.”
But. He wasn’t Unknown.
The data that had once conquered the Summit of the Tower had already been destroyed by Jinhyuk’s hand.
Then…
The number of possible explanations narrowed considerably.
Someone who rivaled Jinhyuk.
Perhaps someone with even greater power than him.
In the whole world, there could only be a handful of such beings.
“As far as we know, Kang Jinhyuk was an orphan. He was abandoned as a child and grew up alone. You… are you not one of the people related to him?”
Flesh and blood.
That possibility held the highest probability.
If that guess was correct, then the reason even the Operators had been unable to discern both his identity and Jinhyuk’s could finally be explained.
“Hmm.”
The Man scratched his chin.
His reaction was neither a confirmation nor a denial.
“It could be flesh and blood. Or maybe something closer than flesh and blood. Or maybe it’s something completely different.”
Fwoosh.
Crimson sword energy rose along the blade.
[Unique Holy Spear – Sword Extreme One God is activated!]
Rumble rumble rumble rumble!
The Man’s body was wrapped in a black aura.
An ominous pressure, on a completely different level from before, began eating away at the entire space.
…Terrifying.
Just the activation of a Unique Holy Spear was enough to give off pressure greater than even the Ancient Beings.
“Be careful.”
“I know.”
“Damn. Seeing it in person, it’s really the real thing.”
“…He’s coming!”
JJ stepped forward.
Clang clang clang clang!
Sword strikes beyond the limits of perception poured down.
A swordsmanship that flowed like water, yet was rough and elegant at the same time, as if it contained a typhoon within it.
“Kuh!”
In an instant, countless cuts appeared all over his body.
“Why did you think I would give you hints about Alice, or anything else?”
The Man’s gaze turned cold.
His playful demeanor vanished completely. In its place stood a Sword Demon overflowing with killing intent.
“Not a single one of you is leaving this place alive.”
The Operators would all die here.
The only one who would witness the end of the Tower was Kang Jinhyuk alone.
===
Even though they had taken a shortcut through the swamp, reaching their destination still took quite a while. It was only late at night that they finally arrived at the edge of the swamp.
But.
Now, the place where the pinnacle of this world resided was visible to the naked eye.
-Contractor.
Alice, who had been observing the situation from the Ring of Brahma, spoke up.
Yeah. I know without you needing to say it.
From this point on, it was the real thing.
Right then.
Ding!
A purple-tinted Status Window appeared before Jinhyuk and Cheongha.
“Oh ho, would you look at this?”
A meaningful exclamation slipped from Jinhyuk’s lips.