Silence.
Silence descended in the emptiness. No one opened their mouth. It was quiet. The sounds of beings that were licking at my brain….stopped. Only then could I breathe.
'They're not beings in the Tower itself!'
I got a grasp on myself.
'The language of beings in the tower are translated so I can understand it….but they're different. They're beings that live outside of the tower. They're beings that can't even be compared to the Devil King of Fall Rain!'
They might be the people who made the tower.
People who lived somewhere that I couldn't imagine.
After a long silence,
[The voting regarding the agenda item is beginning.]
A familiar voice rang out.
After hearing the voice, I felt more comfortable.
[The 6th Constellation. 'The Author of All Operas' votes against it.]
[The 5th Constellation. 'The Lady Who Walks the Mirage' votes for it.]
[The 4th Constellation. 'The Moon That Observes Blindness' votes for it.]
[The 3rd Constellation. 'One Who Created Bonsan' votes against it.]
[The 2nd Constellation. 'The God Who Dances in Emptiness' gives up their vote.]
Two for, two against, and one give up.
"······."
I paused.
I couldn't know who they were or where they were from. However, they had the authority to decide about my skill [Hundred Ghosts Reincarnation]. That much was clear. But their votes resulted in something that wasn't for, or against it.
Why?
What did they expect from me?
'…Wait.'
I looked around me, the sound of snakes hissing, gone.
'There's…..still a being that didn't vote.'
Yes.
I had clearly heard it when I entered this place.
[The tower requests a majority conference to the Six Constellations of Ten Thousand Lives.]
And that wasn't the end.
[Confirming participants.]
[Confirmed that the Six Constellations of Ten Thousand Lives are participating.]
'Yeah. They said there was 6!'
The tower had definitely said there were 6 beings here. Then, the vote that just happened now was strange. Two votes for, two against, and one that didn't count. There were only 5 in total.
Then where was the last 1 vote?
And,
-······."
-······."
Just what was the remaining being like, for everyone to remain so respectfully quiet?
'······.'
It was someone who didn't have to participate in this space.
It was someone who didn't have to come here, because they were already here from the beginning.
The person who knew everything while in here.
The owner of the tower.
'…..I.'
I looked straight at the dark area in front of me.
The most powerful being was right there.
'I think voting for it is right.'
I thought as calmly as I could.
I quietly spoke about what I had been contemplating.
'Let's say NPCs don't count. Then how was the Devil King able to summon so many monsters? All the people who were massacred by the Devil King must've been NPCs.'
The gazes silently looked at me.
'Of course, I know what you're all worried about. You're concerned that I'll just kill any NPCs in sight to summon them…But, I think I showed you what kind of person I was.'
A dark area.
I looked at each of the directions where I felt the beings were.
And I spoke.
'I'm not that kind of person.'
-······.
'And I won't live like that in the future.;
In the end, it was the same.
No matter how strong my opponent was, there were already methods that were chosen for me. It was always just two.
Fight, or convince them.
'The Devil King can kill NPCs and summon them, and I can't? That's unfair.'
-Not bad.
Something opened their mouth.
A voice.
It sounded like it was whispering right in my ear, and also like it came from far away. It caused shivers down my back every time it spoke.
-But it's complicated.
The voice was laughing.
-Death King. Speak with your heart, and not your head.
'······.'
I was silent for a moment.
And I spoke.
'That Devil King is a game that I caught.'
I said what I could.
'—It's mine, so please don't touch it.'
The voice burst out in laughter.
[The 1st Constellation.]
['The Owner of Ten Thousand Lives' votes for it.]
The sound of the laughter pierced through the darkness.
[The voting is finished.]
[3 votes for. 2 votes against. 1 vote given up.]
[NPCs are included in Death King's skill, 'Hundred Ghosts Reincarnation.]
Clang, shatter!
The darkness cracked like glass due to the laughter. In the empty prison, another empty space had opened up. From there, white light flowed.
[The temporary apostle authority of the Death King is being taken away.]
I realized while I was being surrounded by the blinding light.
[The conference is being ended.]
That I succeeded in convincing the tower.
[May luck be with you.]
ㆍ
ㆍ
ㆍ
ㆍ
ㆍ
ㆍ
-Zombie. Hey, zombie?
Blink.
When I opened my eyes again, I saw the Acacia flowers. Bae Hu-ryeong. And the Fallen Constellation that was once called the Devil King of Fall Rain. There wasn't any sound from the Acacia flowers, and the Fallen Constellation didn't dare make a sound.
Only Bae Hu-ryeong spoke floating in the air.
"······."
-Kim Zombie? Hey, Zombie King. Can you hear me?
I felt strange.
It seemed like only a few seconds had passed by…but at the same time, it felt like forever had passed. It was really strange. And the memory of what had just happened became faint, so I didn't know exactly what went on.
"Sword Emperor…"
-Wow. You finally responded. Your brain must be turning into an actual zombie's because I keep calling you a zombie.
"Didn't you hear it? You didn't see it?"
-What?
"The tower summoned me to the nether world…and something about ten thousand lives and constellations…and someone like the owner of the tower appeared and laughed…you don't know?"
Bae Hu-ryeong frowned.
His face looked as if he had seen a dog with rabies.
In other words, he looked like he was looking at a crazy person.
-Sorry, Zombie. I teased you too much. I've never been sorry my entire life, but I suddenly feel really sorry…I won't tease you as much, so get a grip.
"······."
He didn't know.
The Sword Emperor, who climbed up to the 99th floor. Bae Hu-ryeong, the legend who had earned the name of 'Sword Constellation'… even he didn't know what I was talking about.
The back of my neck felt cold.
'Who did I just meet now?'
The cold feeling wrapped around my neck and spread to my shoulder and back.
'Just…'
Grip.
I tightened my grip on the sword.
'…No. Let's be calm. Kim Gong-ja.'
I swallowed and looked in front of me.
The path I had to take was still in front of me.
'Although there's still a lot of things I don't know.'
I slowly raised my sword.
'Now, I am going to strike the final blow on my game.'
When I reached the 100th floor, I would be able to know something.
Bae Hu-ryeong tilted his head.
-Huh? Gong-ja? You're just going to kill it? Don't you have to ask the tower first?
"It's okay."
I answered.
"I already found my answer."
The Fallen Constellation stretched out its hand.
"W, Wait…! Save...!!"
I flung my sword.
This sword was my reward from the 10th floor. It was what moved the hearts of the soldiers on the 11th floor stage. Tens of times. Hundreds of times. Thousands of times. It was the sword that was always in my hand when I was trapped on the 12th stage.
It was a sword that proved my time because it was always with me.
With that sword, I cut the Fallen Constellation.
"······!"
There was a small scream.
As the screaming sound cut off, the Fallen Constellation collapsed.
Blood poured out.
The blood flowed and stained another Acacia flower. Looking at the white and the red, I slowly opened my mouth.
"Ghost, wake up."
Squirm.
My shadow shook.
A black hand shot out from my shadow. The hand that looked like it was escaping from hell didn't seem to want to leave. But it was a futile act.
"Stand up."
The shadow couldn't refuse my orders. Its head lifted from the shade. Then, it was his chest, legs, and feet.
"You…heuk, ah…ahh…"
Its arms and legs shook like a newborn baby. Even though it had the body of an adult, it was nothing more than a newly born being.
And.
"Estelle is nothing more than the name you stole. It's not a name you can have."
There was always a responsibility to those who gave life in this world.
And the first of those responsibilities was giving a name.
"Preta."
It looked at me through its wavy black hair.
"From now on, your name is Preta."
"Serve me as a master."
It was celebrated as the rural saintess.
And the being that used to be respected as the Devil King of Fall Rain had his shoulders shaking.
"Yes, sir….."
The one that didn't deserve to have a name received a name from me, and bowed. The white Acacia flowers fell, and landed on its head.
"I'll obey your orders."
It was the last day of the promised 5.
"…..My lord."
Death King and Devil King.
One of the two kings fell.
1.
And in that place where a king and his servant were left, the first person to open their mouth wasn't either of them.
-Technically speaking, an emperor, not a king or a servant opened their mouth…
"…Sword Emperor, do you have to do that now?"
He was such a party pooper.
He twisted his body like a baguette with anguish.
-Yeah…I have to…I don't want to do it either….honestly, I want to get away from the two of you and pretend like I don't know you, sheesh, but I'm the only person who can say this.
"Geez, what are you going to say?"
-What are you guys doing?
I didn't know what he was saying, but it seemed like he wanted to be the one giving the name.
"What am I doing? As you can see..."
-Sure. So you killed the Devil King and saved him with your skill. You even gave it a name...sheesh, that name. What kind of name is 'Preta' for a girl? If you wanted to call it a preta, you should've named her Green Preta and call her Greenie for short.
"You're even complaining about the name now?"
-No, let's just say the name's fine. Next…..why are you suddenly establishing a hierarchy?
The Sword Emperor looked at Preta and me like we were the strangest things in this world.
-Like you guys…what kind of bond do you have? Okay fine! Let's say you have it. Since it's the game you caught, hm? You can do that old 'I got u under my skin~' trend. [TN: reference to TVXQ's song Mirotic, the lyrics before this section are 'You're my slave.']
"You listen to popular songs too?"
-One of the hobbies of that Marcus guy is…..anyway. So you're you, but I don't understand why she's going 'Yes my lord.'
I was able to learn one of the Sword Saint's hobbies.
I would've been better off if I didn't know that, but….that wasn't important.
Hm.
"So you're asking why Preta is serving me as I'm her lord, right?"
-Yeah. Zombie? I'll list all the things that you did to her.
I nodded my head.
-You blocked her way while laughing and saying she wouldn't win, right?
"That's how it started."
–And you erased everything she stacked up. After that, you even blew her mind away with everything you said.
"That's what happened."
-And you even killed her. Whew, you forced a kid that didn't want to come out with Hundred Ghosts Reincarnation.
"That's how it ended I guess."
The Sword Emperor clicked his tongue.
-Haaa, you indifferent bastard. Is your heart made of stone?
"There might even be a cobra in there. You forgot to talk about the fact that I 'closed the curtains to the one who doesn't even know how to use a sword' like someone told me to."
-That was necessary, and that preta is probably thankful for that deep inside her heart. If she has the passion of a sword user still left inside her.
The Sword Emperor spoke in a serious tone.
I thought this ghost was just good at nagging, but it seemed like he was also good at talking about bullshit.
-Anyways, so I think it would be normal for her to be angry at you. But why is she bowing her head and asking for you to command her? Was the disaster that swallowed up a whole world actually a masochist of the century?
"Wow..."
The Sword Emperor said that he wanted to get away from us, but the same went for me. I took a step back.
Seriously, that gorilla's imagination….
"Sword Emperor….the reason why Preta is obeying me…"
-The reason is?
"Because Preta knows."
I looked at Preta.
"You'll know soon enough too."
Sounds of sobbing rang out in the Acacia field.
"Heuk….ah…heuk..."
Preta was crying. They were tears of sadness and fury. Her despair dripped down.
It was true.
Preta knew well.
[Searching for the existence of the Devil King on the 20th floor.]
What kind of tragedy would happen from now on.
[Search impossible.]
Preta's shoulders flinched.
[Confirming the absence of the Devil King.]
Drops of light soared up from around us. They came from the ground and flowed from the Acacia trees. The 20th floor stage was small anyway, so it was quickly surrounded by light.
In the middle of the white light…
"No….please. No….."
Preta trembled with a moan.
But what did that all matter for anyways?
[Historical change.]
A strict sounding voice came from the sky.
Like a judgment against the guilty in court.
[The 20th floor is being revised.]
Slowly.
History started to move backwards.
"Ah…."
Preta looked far off into the distance with wet eyes. Something came from the entrance of the Acacia forest path.
Chulkuk! Chulkeduk!
Every time they moved, their armor bumped around. Above them, there were flags of various colors.
"Please…."
They were a countless number of soldiers.
There were the footsteps of soldiers and the sound of wings flapping.
"Again, the village….burn the village…"
To turn back history.
To burn up paradise.
Forces from all around the world were allied together and entered the Acacia forest path.
"No, please….ut, ahh….."
Preta collapsed to the floor and bowed.
Her bowed head and hands were directed at me.
"Lord….."
Like what the Sword Emperor said, Preta should've been trying to tear me to shreds.
But the fact that she was bowing desperately towards me probably meant that she was that much furious and hurt.
"My lord...!"
However, she did it.
She had to.
"I won't have any grudges…..I won't take revenge….."
Preta didn't have any choice other than accepting to become bound to me and serving me as her master.
But when a helpless person had something to protect, they would do anything.
"I'll do whatever you ask me to….servant, slave…..I don't care about what happens to me, so please,"
It made people beg.
"Please, my village…."
"Alright."
I.
Not Saying too much.
I began to walk.
The Sword Emperor followed me. He, who had been looking at us with a silly face, had a more serious face than ever.
-So that's how it was.
"Yes, this is how it is."
Step.
-A servant has to follow their master.
"And a lord has the responsibility to take care of their people."
Step.
-Sorry I twisted it.
"You lost the bet too, right? Please just think of the consequences for that."
I walked past him.
I took a deep breath and included Aura in my voice.
I shouted.
"All legions stop!"
The Acacia flowers fluttered in the air as if an invisible force shook them.
The sound of the dragons flapping and armor bumping against each other stopped. The sound of the horses' footsteps and the banging of the spear stopped.
Stood alone in the Acacia field.
There were only flowers between me and the army.