Chapter 159 - Episode 22. Climbing the Branch (1)
Chapter 159: Episode 22. Climbing the Branch (1)
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「“You certainly eat well. A man I once knew loved these dumplings too.”」
- From Manri Shintong’s “Memories of Dumplings”
* * *
After seeing the Leader’s ability, Jaehwan’s thoughts grew complicated.
He could rewind time.
Had Jaehwan ever faced an enemy with such an absurdly overpowered ability?
‘It was not an illusion. Did he really rewind time?’
- That’s right.
‘A demon I know said no such ability exists in this world.’
- I understand what they meant, but abilities that rewind time definitely exist. It is rather modest, so calling it something grand like “regression” would be a stretch.
‘So the ability has limitations.’
Of course, a Setting that absurd could not possibly be without limits.
Jaehwan immediately returned to the inn.
“Jaehwan-niiiim!”
Runald came running over with hurried footsteps and crashed into Jaehwan.
After looking down at Runald for a moment, Jaehwan turned to Manri Shintong.
“Weren’t they supposed to go to the safe house?”
“The Alliance found out. I decided it would be safer to protect them here instead.”
The Alliance had apparently already seen through their plans.
Had Jaehwan clashed directly with the Leader, everyone at the inn would have died.
Several familiar faces had arrived inside. Rayray, Rene, Pilgrim, Gale, Martis, and the Gods of Today.
It struck Jaehwan once again that he had met more people in this tower than he had realized.
The Allies each chimed in with a remark.
“I heard you went to fight the Leader.”
“Are we starting the war now?”
“You met the Leader? What did he say? Please tell the camera!”
Jaehwan looked at them and answered.
“We agreed to face off in three days. Until then, the Alliance won’t move recklessly.”
“Will the Leader really keep his word?”
“I don’t know. He was a strange bastard.”
The Allies looked at Jaehwan as if they could not believe him.
Jaehwan had no intention of explaining.
“Either way, I intend to remain in seclusion for the next three days. I need time alone, so don’t disturb me.”
The Allies looked confused. It was the first time they had seen the usually unhesitating Jaehwan pause to catch his breath.
“Jaehwan-nim, what should I do? I practice Stab every day.”
“What do you stab?”
“Nothing in particular. I just keep stabbing toward the Alliance.”
Jaehwan stared at Runald for a moment before speaking.
“Can you use Normal Stab now?”
“Not properly yet.”
“Keep training with the gods. Do not participate in battle until you can use Hard Stab.”
Runald nodded.
“Then I will see you in three days.”
Jaehwan immediately walked out of the inn. He knew dragging things out would only make the Allies more confused.
A wide street stretched before him outside.
For some reason, Jaehwan felt as though he had only just truly entered the 〈Metaverse〉.
Andersen, perched atop his head, asked.
- What are you going to do for three days?
‘Look around the lower floors of the tower.’
- Why? Because of what the Leader said?
Andersen sounded surprised. From her perspective, Jaehwan was the type who never listened to anyone else.
‘A memory I had forgotten came back to me.’
- What memory?
‘I heard the dream demon that created this tower was also a Master. Then this tower must contain secrets left behind by that dream demon.’
Sirwen had once said that every nightmare tower contained the dream demon’s intentions.
If that was true, then the 〈Metaverse〉 would also have traces left behind by its dream demon.
Just as 〈Fortress of Regret〉 had contained writing left by Mulack.
That was when a message appeared before him.
[God Slayer ‘Jaehwan’ Memorial Package released. Journey once more through memories of the Metaverse that you may have passed by without notice!]
[A grand adventure with God Slayer ‘Jaehwan’ to uncover the secrets of the Metaverse!]
[For only 30,000 trust, you can travel throughout the tower from the First Floor to the Eighth Floor for three days!]
So they were trying to sell items like this even now.
They were not even selling it only to him.
“Ooh, a trip down memory lane?”
“The Metaverse’s business tactics really are something.”
“Can we go with God Slayer? What are the Metaverse’s secrets?”
Watching the murmuring gods, Jaehwan frowned slightly.
The current 〈Metaverse〉 had become so distorted by the Alliance’s tyranny that little of its former appearance remained. There was no way he could learn the tower’s secrets through a package like that.
Rather than buy it, Jaehwan lightly leaped into the air and landed atop the pavilion on the inn’s roof.
People were waiting for him there.
“You came.”
Jaehwan nodded toward the members of Rupture looking at him.
Yu Seolha, Imai, and Jin Eunsae were there as well.
After Jaehwan briefly explained what he needed, Yu Seolha replied.
“You want us to stand guard for three days?”
“I intend to train for a while. I need protection during that time.”
“That’s really all? You’re going to clear the debt for saving Eunsae with that?”
“I won’t say it twice.”
Jaehwan dropped onto the pavilion roof, crossed his legs, and concentrated.
For the next three days, he could not allow anyone to interrupt him.
He did not think the Leader would attack, but there was no harm in being careful. If the Alliance’s flies came buzzing in, he needed someone to protect the inn in his stead.
“Imai. You heard him, right? Guard him well.”
“You’re dumping this on me again?”
“I’ll stand guard too!”
As Jin Eunsae shouted boldly, Jaehwan slowly sank into his Unique World.
When he blinked, the surrounding scenery had already changed.
A massive eye in the sky looked down at him when he raised his head.
He had completely entered his Unique World.
As he slowly turned his gaze, the scenery around him came into view one piece at a time.
The first thing he saw was Andersen in Rachel Young’s form. Andersen had opened a window in the Unique World to look outside, but she jumped in surprise upon noticing Jaehwan.
- Ah! You startled me! When did you get in here?
“Just now.”
- No, why did you suddenly come in here? You said you were going to examine the lower floors of the tower.
“The tower is here.”
- Could you explain what the hell you mean in a way I can understand?
“The current Metaverse is not in the first form the dream demon created. What I need to examine is the ‘old Metaverse.’”
Andersen’s expression shifted subtly.
- Wait. You don’t mean...
Jaehwan suddenly reached out toward Andersen.
Memories began flowing out from within her. Those billowing memories took root in the surface of his Unique World, then grew into a single towering form.
Andersen blankly stared at the tip of that form.
The 〈Metaverse〉 she remembered stood there.
The tower she had missed and hated so deeply. Its facilities were much older and more rundown than they were now, yet it still had a charm of its own.
A sign Jaehwan had never seen before stood at the tower’s entrance.
「The reason gods cannot climb to the end of the world is simple. They are too heavy. This tower is a staircase I made for heavy gods.」
Perhaps it was writing left behind by Neil Crash.
As Jaehwan read it, he asked Andersen, ‘You said you had already fought the Leader once.’
- I did. It was a long time ago, though.
Neither looked at the other as they gazed up at the tower.
It was far too massive to examine completely in three days.
Andersen spoke.
- I should tell you now, my lessons will be very difficult.
‘That is what I hoped for.’
- Good. Then let us give it a try.
That was how their three-day journey began.
* * *
While Jaehwan had entered his Unique World, Yu Seolha headed alone for the Alliance’s home base.
It was not something she had arranged with Jaehwan beforehand. But when had Rupture ever concerned itself with keeping every little agreement?
After crossing the pavilions in an instant, Yu Seolha arrived at the main gate of the ancient palace.
“What-”
The guards collapsed with dying cries.
The startled Clockmakers rushed at Yu Seolha as she kicked open the main gate and entered.
The ones before her were the 3 o’clock, 5 o’clock, and 6 o’clock Clockmakers.
The Clockmakers were ranked according to the hours displayed on them.
The Clockmakers from 7 o’clock through 12 o’clock, those considered strong, appeared to be absent from the palace. Then there was no reason to waste time.
Rumble.
Lightning crashed down upon the ancient palace, and Yu Seolha’s chain scythe flashed like lightning as it took the Clockmakers’ heads.
Gods waiting in the corridor rushed out to stop Yu Seolha as she ran forward without slowing.
One god among them looked quite strong. They might not have been at the level of the Seven Stars, but they were clearly above the Metaverse Six Gods.
“What business does Rupture have here?”
The moment she heard their voice, Yu Seolha realized who they were.
“If you don’t withdraw at once, we’ll mobilize the Alliance’s entire force-”
“You’re the Alliance’s new strategist.”
Yu Seolha had heard of them. She had forgotten their name, but they were certainly a god of some standing in this tower.
This bastard had likely ordered the harassment of Jaehwan and Jin Eunsae.
Making one final effort to remain patient, Yu Seolha spoke.
“Tell the Leader to come out.”
“Do you think we fear Rupture?”
Perhaps defeating Jin Eunsae, a member of Rupture, had made the strategist confident. They did not seem to fear Yu Seolha.
“Attack.”
Yu Seolha smiled at the Alliance soldiers rushing toward her.
“Rupture’s standing must have sunk low indeed.”
Yu Seolha looked up at the ancient palace ceiling and slowly closed her eyes.
As Yu Seolha’s perception accelerated, the movements around her became relatively slower.
Sanctuary Manifestation.
When she opened her eyes again.
「Mountain of Corpses, Sea of Blood」.
The world was dyed crimson.
“G-Gyaaaaaah!”
Blood flowed from the gods’ seven orifices. Beings who should have been incapable of bleeding vomited blood as they died.
Yu Seolha’s scythe moved leisurely through the mad gods’ screams, cutting through their necks.
The strategist’s severed head still wore the oblivious expression of someone who had died without realizing it.
Yu Seolha kicked the strategist’s head with indifferent eyes, then sighed.
“They can’t all die. Someone has to tell them what happened.”
The few gods who had barely survived finally rose and ran deeper into the ancient palace.
They understood.
This was Rupture.
The fear of gods, the archenemy of Lords.
The Tree of Illusion’s worst terrorist organization.
A sound like skulls breaking rang out several times in the distance, then the Leader appeared from the training ground.
[It has been a long time, Seolha.]
“It has.”
Yu Seolha stared at the Leader’s face for a long moment before speaking.
“Senior Brother.”
[Why have you come here?]
“How long do you plan to keep playing Leader? It seems the Commander wants you to return soon too. We’ve waited long enough for you, haven’t we?”
Eoduksi looked at Seolha from within the wavering darkness.
[I left Rupture. I told you that.]
“Master Cheongheo said the same thing. But listen, it is a problem when everyone just leaves whenever they feel like it. What are the people left behind supposed to do? Did we not agree to struggle for our lives together in this hellhole?”
The Leader looked at Yu Seolha’s Unique World.
「Mountain of Corpses, Sea of Blood」. The scene of the Great Disappearance seven hundred years ago, created by piled corpses.
“Come to your senses, Senior Brother. Stop pretending to be a god and come back. Master Cheongheo left, and you left too. Rupture is becoming something strange. You know it too. The Commander can’t shoulder everything alone.”
[Seolha. We can’t become Companions again.]
“So you crawled into the Fifth Site? From what I can see, you stole 「Time Rewind」 from Chronos. Why not turn time back seven hundred years and bring your dead sibling back? Let us erase Rupture, erase the Seven Divine Thrones, and return to a time when there were no gods or Lords.”
The Leader smiled bitterly.
[That was my intention. But it is a very difficult thing to do.]
“This won’t work. That won’t work. So you decided to live trapped here like a prisoner. Do you still spend your days asking strange questions by yourself?”
[I still ask questions, but lately, I sometimes wonder why I am even asking them.]
The Leader’s eyes burned like ghostly flames within the darkness. He blinked slowly, then turned his gaze from Mountain of Corpses, Sea of Blood toward the view outside the window.
[Perhaps that is why I have recently become more curious about the questions others ask.]
“For example?”
The Leader quietly raised a hand and motioned her out.
[Go back now. Do not come looking for me again. When we meet next time, we will be enemies.]
“I had intended to do that.”
The waves of World Force flowing from Yu Seolha’s entire body became fiercer.
“But I think it would be easier to kill you now and leave.”
Dazzling lightning infused Thunder Goblin, and terrifying killing intent surged toward the Leader.
“Former Second Division Commander of Rupture, ‘Kim Siwoon.’ I will eliminate you here.”
At that very moment, the Leader’s Setting activated.
「Time Rewind」, one of the Leader’s Three Divine Artifacts, had activated.
Yu Seolha’s features twisted into a demonic grimace as time was forcibly pulled backward.
“You think a paltry Setting like this can...”
Crack.
The Sanctuary’s power activated, and Yu Seolha began resisting the flow of time.
Then the Leader took something from inside his robes.
It was a Cube. It looked far larger and sturdier than the [Time Cube] that had imprisoned Jaehwan and Ethan.
Yu Seolha’s eyes widened as she tried to shout something. At that moment, the Cube’s lid sprang open in a burst of brilliant light.
A storm of World Force swirled, dragging Yu Seolha’s body and voice into the Cube.
Then a deep silence fell.
[Rest. Three days will pass quickly.]
The Leader placed the Cube by the training ground window.
Thud. Thud.
The miniatures by the window shook lightly whenever vibrations came from inside the Cube.
Listening to those sounds, the Leader quietly looked out at the sky as if nothing had happened.
* * *
Three days later, Jaehwan opened his eyes in the darkness.
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