Chapter 162 - Episode 22. Climbing the Branch (4)
Chapter 162: Episode 22. Climbing the Branch (4)
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“I have to go up. Move aside, or I’ll cut you down.”
Jaehwan’s answer cast a heavy silence over the area.
“Then you will die here.”
One by one, the souls around them held their breath under Shiyu’s gaze. An overwhelming presence surrounded Shiyu, equal to or greater than the pressure that had accompanied the highest-ranking Generals.
Jaehwan did not shrink back in the slightest before Shiyu’s aura.
“If someone like you is one of the Seven Heavens, then the Leader must belong among them too.”
“Have you already met the Leader?”
Jaehwan nodded, and unease crossed the old man’s face.
“The Leader truly possesses power on par with the Seven Heavens. The fact that you recognized that means…”
Shiyu’s wise eyes carefully studied Jaehwan’s.
A moment later, a faint spark flashed in the old man’s eyes.
As if genuinely amazed, he murmured to Jaehwan.
“Remarkable. Can a young god already see a seat among the Seven Divine Thrones?”
[Multiple gods are startled by the God of Aging’s words.]
[Some gods ask whether that is true.]
The stunned gods looked at one another.
They knew Jaehwan was strong. Yet powerful figures had often emerged throughout 《Abyss》’s history.
But Shiyu had just mentioned the Seven Divine Thrones.
“God Slayer is that strong? He can already see a place among the Seven Divine Thrones?”
“I think the God of Aging has gone senile.”
“To be strong enough to contend with the Seven Heavens…”
Over the past thousand years, the ranks of the Seven Stars and Seven Heavens had changed from time to time. Monsters beyond all standards had appeared, and some had risen to the ranks of the strongest after discovering relics of Ancient Gods.
The Seven Divine Thrones were different.
The seven gods standing at the highest peak of the 《Abyss》.
Rulers of enormous Sites, beings who held the 《Tree of Illusion》’s greatest power and were feared even by the Twelve Great Lords.
Most gods would train their whole lives, then vanish without ever glimpsing even the shadow of the Seven Heavens, much less the Seven Divine Thrones.
Yet Shiyu, the God of Aging and one of the Seven Heavens, had said that Jaehwan could see a place among the Seven Divine Thrones.
“Amazing. Not even the Leader or Andersen in their prime would have been at your level.”
“You know Andersen?”
“She was an exceptional god. If she had not faced the Leader five hundred years ago, she would likely be one of the Seven Stars or Seven Heavens by now. I do not know where she is or what she is doing these days.”
It seemed Shiyu did not know Andersen was traveling with Jaehwan.
Perhaps he was a god who barely watched 《Little Brother》. The Abyss was vast, and it held all kinds of gods. It was not strange for some to reject communication and live in seclusion.
Andersen gave no response to Shiyu’s words. She had likely dozed off, exhausted from sharing her memories with Jaehwan.
After carefully assessing Jaehwan’s aura, Shiyu continued.
“Now that I have seen your talent, I am even more afraid to harm you. You have the potential to reach the Seven Divine Thrones. Please, do not take your life so lightly.”
Come to think of it, Manri Shintong and the Leader had said similar things. Did old gods develop some strange sense of community among themselves?
“Thanks for the concern. Now move.”
For some reason, Jaehwan did not want to fight Shiyu. The old man did not seem to have come with any real intention of killing him. Even his expression made it obvious that Chronos had forced him to come here.
“You are quite unreasonable. You…”
Shiyu let out a light sigh and was about to continue when a cold voice came from below the stairs.
“Lord Slayer.”
Here, he was called God Slayer. There, Lord Slayer.
From the title alone, Jaehwan could guess what group had appeared.
The gods’ faces changed as they turned toward the voice, openly wary.
World Pressures he recognized from fighting in 《Chaos》.
Lords from the Five Great Families and the twelve zones had arrived.
They appeared to be an advance force. They were not as strong as the Generals from the Ninth Zone who had come looking for him before. Even so, they were clearly at least General-tier powerhouses.
“How dare Lords come here!”
“Get lost. We only have business with the Lord Slayer.”
Jaehwan had expected them to come to the Tower eventually, but their timing was poor.
The Seven Heavens stood before him. Lords stood behind him.
There was no easy way to escape in either direction.
Then gods poured out from behind the stairs. They pushed through the crowd and stood at Jaehwan’s side as if to protect him.
“Leave this to us and go.”
Rayray added after Rene.
“Go on, God Slayer.”
Martis said something equally strange.
“This is our Naked Group’s territory now.”
Runald drew a toy-like sword.
“Jaehwan-nim, I can use Hard Stab now. I learned it by watching that handsome guy use it. It is not quite the same as yours yet, Jaehwan-nim.”
Karlton’s eyes widened at Runald’s words.
Gale appeared next, leading a group of mid-grade gods. Manri Shintong was there as well, with the Black Shop’s gatekeepers.
“I’ll show the ones who look down on mid-grade gods what we can do.”
“The Black Shop cannot miss a historic fight like this.”
Karlton looked at Jaehwan’s Allies with deep emotion.
Just as in Chaos, there were a few here who followed Jaehwan.
Karlton stood with them, as if protecting Jaehwan, and spoke.
“Fortress Lord-nim, I will hold them off here as well.”
The Lords roared and drew their swords. The Gods of Today gripped their own weapons with shouts.
Explosions thundered across the battlefield.
Gods and Lords at least Warlord-tier, or even General-tier, collided. Violent shockwaves began sweeping over the stairs.
At the center of that battlefield, Rene cut off a Lord’s head and called to Jaehwan.
“Go up and kill the Leader!”
Jaehwan looked at Rene for a moment.
He could not understand why Rene and the other gods were helping him so much.
That was why he had to tell them. He had to make clear what he was trying to do, and what their goodwill in helping him would bring upon them.
“I will destroy your world.”
Rene stared quietly at Jaehwan.
Several Lords fighting on the landing screamed as they fell down the spiral staircase.
Jaehwan and Rene watched them together.
Gods and Lords fell into the distant spiral below.
Long ago, Jaehwan had seen a similar sight of falling.
Gods, Lords, and humans had all come here to climb higher. They accumulated World Force, raised their levels, and built Towers. All to reach a higher place. Then they came here to fall again because they could not bear the height they had reached.
“Go ahead.”
Jaehwan did not know what Rene saw in that scene or what she was thinking. Rene likely did not know either.
A distance as vast as the endless spiral staircase stood between them, so they could never truly understand one another.
Still, Jaehwan had saved Rene, and Rene had come here to help him.
That was the only understanding they shared amid this chaos.
“Didn’t you say this Tower had to be protected?”
“I still think that. I am helping you, but part of me also hopes you fail. Still, if you truly succeed and bring this world to an end…”
Rene gazed beyond the spiral with unfocused eyes.
“Show us the view you see.”
Jaehwan watched Rene for a moment, then nodded and turned away.
As if waiting for that, one of the Seven Heavens blocked his path.
“So something like bonds still remains in this era. But young man, you cannot pass through here.”
Without hesitation, Jaehwan wrapped himself in World Force.
At that moment, powerful World Force rose behind him.
“Hey, old man. How about you play with me?”
A chilling sound of a blade tearing through the air rang out. The gods and Lords behind them were cut in half and scattered across the floor.
Imai, Rupture’s Third Division Commander, walked across the corpse-strewn landing.
Shiyu opened his mouth in shock, and Imai’s katana drew a strange curve through the air. Shiyu hurriedly shot out both palms, which collided with the katana in a thunderous crash. They had exchanged only a single blow, yet the entire staircase shook precariously as if crying out in pain.
Imai spoke.
“Go already. This old man is pretty strong, so I need to focus. And do me one favor.”
“A favor?”
“Three days ago, Seolha went to take down the Leader alone, then we lost contact with her. You do not need to know why she did it, but if you can, bring Seolha back.”
Jaehwan nodded.
“I will.”
Perhaps Jaehwan’s indifferent answer worried Imai, because Imai added anxiously.
“Seolha is not someone who would die easily. I really believe that, but… bring her back alive. A Division Commander going missing is a serious problem for us too. If things go wrong, a Commander might come here personally. Then every one of us is finished. Now hurry up and go!”
Imai took Shiyu’s immense World Force head-on and gripped the katana in both hands. An odd scent of blood and flowers rose from the elegant blade, and soon Blood Flowers began blooming around Imai.
That was likely the Third Division Commander’s primary Setting.
Jaehwan wanted to watch their fight longer, but he put that regret behind him and started running up the stairs.
“I’ll cover the rear.”
Jin Eunsae blocked the gods chasing after Jaehwan.
Taking advantage of the time his Allies had bought him, Jaehwan accelerated.
「Earth Stab」
He drove his foot forward like a blade and crossed dozens, then hundreds, of steps at once.
How much farther had he run?
At last, he could no longer sense Jin Eunsae or the gods pursuing him.
Jaehwan was completely alone.
The staircase never ended, no matter how far he ran.
At some point, the World Force grew denser, making it hard for him to breathe. It felt as though he was climbing against compressed time and space. His mind and soul gradually came under strain.
It was similar to entering the 《Tower of Nightmares》 with its time ratio raised to the limit.
Traces of gods who seemed to have given up midway were scattered along the stairs. Jaehwan ran while counting those traces.
The history of discipline he had forged through machine-like diligence protected him.
When he looked down, he could faintly see something like a distant world below.
In that world, gods and Lords continued their endless war, while Cultivators harvested Products to offer them.
Souls that had failed to be harvested would become the hands and feet of gods and Lords in a hell stripped of life, turning their swords upon one another.
All that suffering felt like a lie to Jaehwan.
Perhaps this was what the Dream Demon that created the Tower had wanted to tell him.
Why had the Dream Demon wanted to show him this?
What meaning was there in experiencing such emotions in this meaningless world?
The staircase grew narrower and narrower.
At some point, it no longer felt as if he was running on stairs.
It felt like running across clouds.
He kept running, and when even the sensation of running finally vanished,
[You have reached the ‘End of the Branch’.]
Jaehwan had finally reached the top of the Branch.
[You have completed the Task ‘Climbing the Branches’!]
[Your ‘Climbing the Branches’ ranking is first place.]
[You have received 400,000 trust as a reward.]
[An ‘Ninth Floor admission ticket’ has been awarded as a reward.]
[You have gained the qualification to challenge the final floor of the Metaverse.]
When he opened his eyes again, someone was waiting for Jaehwan.
Footnotes:
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