King.
"Uh…"
The tip of my lips rose up. People instinctively smile when they encounter something unexpected.
I looked around. Black Dragon Master, Heretic Questioner, Venomous Snake, Crusader, and Count. I met their eyes, one after the other.
"…You're joking, right?"
"Of course," said the Black Dragon Master.
I wanted her to continue and say, "Of course I'm joking." But the words that came from her lips were the complete opposite of my expectations.
"Of course, we can't make a new monarchy right now. Death King, you may not know this, but we've devoted our heart and soul into the Tower's current system… We struggled through many failures and setbacks for this."
"We're each trying to work the ideals of anarchy in our own ways. Aha. The 'guilds' in the Tower are actually a kind of combination…"
"That's enough. Talking about that won't help Death King."
The Crusader cut off the Heretic Questioner.
"The king is a mere symbol. However, symbols have real power. Kim Gongja. You already have real power. A hundred thousand people entered the Tower in one day after seeing your name and believing in your character."
"...."
"Not even the Black Dragon Master has accomplished this before. You're the first. There's no precedent for any Hunter having this kind of power!"
It was only then when I realized the Crusader was more worked up than usual.
The Crusader was always calm and poised. The only time she raised her voice was during the [12th Floor Incident], which nobody remembered now. She had only acted like this when everyone was suspicious of each other and trying to kill each other.
But the Crusader was excited now.
It wasn't just her.
Other than the Heretic Questioner, all of the great guild leaders were strangely heated. They were struggling to keep their excitement in check, but I could see their bare emotions in their gazes.
"We wouldn't have been able to handle this population boom before. Food had been scarce. But the way we are now, we have enough land and trade routes… It will be difficult, but we can meet the demand for food."
"Above all, we have [experience]," said the Count.
"I'm not bragging, but all of the guildmasters here have experienced turmoil. The Crusader is a nomad from a ruined nation. The Black Dragon Master is an orphan from a country ravaged by a civil war, and the Heretic Questioner and the Venomous Snake have been living with mafia and gangs since they were young. I was born in the poorest village in the world. Everyone here is an 'expert of troubled times.' "
"That's right," affirmed the Black Dragon Master. "In this world, only we can deal with this crisis. No country, no nation in the outside world can do it. But [we] can! We've overcome things worse than this!"
"...."
I gulped. I could clearly feel the guildmasters' excitement.
They had abandoned the old world and fled to the new world. And though they reached the peak of this new world, the guildmasters hadn't given up on their desire to build a new society.
"Death King. We can do it."
A dream.
"Let's do what no country in the outside world could do. Somewhere that's a bit better. Let's make a world where the people who were kicked away by the outside world can breathe and live a little!"
An ideal.
"We know well what a fallen society is like. So, we can make one that won't fall."
The Crusader, who fled from a country in South America.
"We know what divides people and causes wars. So, we can prevent civil wars."
The Black Dragon Master, who survived bloody conflicts in the Black Sea.
"We know what violence is. So we can make use of violence."
The Heretic Questioner, raised by the mafia in eastern Europe.
The Venomous Snake, who grew up in the Triads in central China.
"We know what it means to be poor, so we can overcome poverty."
The Count, who was born in a trashy town in India.
"Let's show them, Death King," said the Black Dragon Master.
"Let's show the people that we can create a slightly better world!"
Then, I realized.
It was me who had changed the guildmasters.
This never happened in the previous world. In the world where the Flame Emperor was ranked first… The Tower was just a tower.
A refuge for the hopeless.
A paradise for criminals and death row prisoners.
I had never seen the Black Dragon Master's sparkling eyes as she talked about a [new world]. Not in a magazine picture. Not in any video interviews.
The Black Dragon always had cold eyes.
But she changed because of me.
"...."
My heart pounded.
"Please."
The world that Master dreamed of.
"Please tell me what I have to do."
I could change the world.
"…Sure. Yeah. I thought you would ask that."
The Black Dragon Master smiled gently. Her gaze portrayed her faith in me.
"Continue acting as you are. That's the most important thing. Getting used to politics is something we can teach you step by step."
"Ahaha. If you look at it sideways, it's like we're monopolizing the real power while Death King plays a figurehead!"
"…Well, I won't deny that. But I also want to hand over this position to someone else as soon as I can. Do you know how many violent crimes happen each day?"
"Oh, there are frequent crimes under the name of religion! In the last ten days, 21 terror attacks have been prevented before they occurred!"
"Let's stop talking about this. It'll just make us miserable…"
Hm.
The most important thing is for me to stay as myself.
'If so.'
I looked around.
"Library director-nim! Librarian! Where are you?"
My voice echoed through the huge library. Then, a small shadow peeped his head from behind a bookshelf the size of a house. It had been a while since I saw the Constellation [The Corner Librarian].
"Jeez, what are you doing back there? Get over here."
"B-but… I mean…"
The Librarian's lips trembled.
"How can an insignificant creature like I dare to show myself before the esteemed Death King? Your eyes will be dirtied. Please treat me like I don't exist, as if I'm a speck of dust floating in the library…"
"Ah, don't act so crazy. Just come here."
"Uh. Um. Uhh…"
The Librarian floated helplessly. His long sleeves were fluttering like the ears of a sad Maltese puppy.
"Speak, please…"
"Please take out a book for our next stage."
"Which Apocalypse do you want?"
"A fairy tale."
"...."
The Librarian shut his mouth tightly. Unconcerned, I said, "Among the Apocalypses offered to us, there's only one fairy tale. Please hand it over."
"…Hmm. Indeed, there's a strange connection."
The Librarian's expression changed. His eyes were half open, trembling with appreciation as they often did when he saw me.
"All right. Here is the Apocalypse you talked about."
One of the books floating around the Librarian flew to him. When the Librarian opened the cover, information about the Apocalypse showed up.
+
[Me and Our Scapegoat]
Genre: Fairy Tale
Difficulty level: A-Class
Player Limit: 2 or more
※The Serialization is currently suspended.
Introduction: This world's humanity had succeeded in creating a Utopia. But a special power source was required to maintain the Utopia. The power source needed were the screams of suffering from an innocent child who has committed no crimes. Though it was a pity, for the perfect happiness of 17 million people, 1 innocent should bear with it, right? Thanks to meticulously developed torture techniques and life-saving treatments, about five years' worth of screams were able to be extracted from each child. Such efficiency!
Reason for Discontinuation: 118,000 years had passed since the creation of Utopia. Eventually, all of the innocent children were used up. The Utopia, which lost its power source, came to an end.
+
'Right.'
This was the Apocalypse.
I had been keeping it in mind since I first saw it.
"Everyone, I'd like to choose this Apocalypse for our next stage."
"Huh?"
The guildmasters looked around .
The Black Dragon Master tilted her head.
"A fairy tale? Sorry, Death King, but that fairy tale world won't give us resources or more territory. The difficulty is also A-class… Do we have to challenge it?"
"Yes, we do."
I looked into the Black Dragon Master's eyes.
"Up until now, we've been picking the Apocalypses based on how useful the worlds will be to the Tower. The martial arts archives in [The Chronicles of the Heavenly Demon] will strengthen the Tower's fighting power. Exchanges with the science fiction world will greatly improve our scientific power."
The Apocalypses we've challenged so far were as follows:
+
21st floor: The Great Library of All Things
22nd floor: Chronicles of the Heavenly Demon (Genre: Martial Arts, Fusion)
23rd floor: Saga of the Iron Knights in Space (Genre: Sci-Fi)
24th Floor: Dawn Mountain Cabin Journal (Genre: Mystery, History)
25th floor: The Tale of Sormwyn Academy (Genre: Romance)
26th Floor: Festival City Apocalypse (Genre: Sports)
27th floor: Bakery Street Epic (Genre: Cooking, Business Management)
+
I stayed in the empire for half a month after completing [The Tale of Sormwyn Academy]. During that time, the other Hunters cleared the 26th and 27th floors. All Hunters with titles were working hard to clear the stages.
Now, the 28th, 29th, and 30th floors were left.
'But.'
I had my own plans. If things happened as I wanted… This 28th floor would basically be our last Apocalypse.
After ruminating on that plan, I opened my mouth.
"It isn't necessarily just technology and resources that are useful. Heretic Inquisitor, you said that the Tower's population is growing by nearly 100,000 people a day."
"Yes."
"What we need now is a focal point. It's unity."
The Heretic Questioner blinked.
"I agree, but isn't that why we're supporting you? You're the focal point of the Tower. We'll provide you with a suitable position soon! We can make you a great position like [Guild Alliance Leader] or [Counsel Leader]!"
I shook my head.
Guild Alliance Leader.
Some people might be charmed by the title. On the outside, it would look like I had the most authority in the Tower.
"Such tricks won't do."
"Oh? Why do you say it's a trick?"
"Everyone here, not just me, needs to garner the people's support. I'm not really the one who controls the Tower right now. It's all of you. Only when you all gain the people's support will the Tower unite as one."
"...."
The library became quiet.
Then, the Heretic Questioner smiled.
"You have a point. But did you know? Death King, we have original sin. We've done tremendous things to stop the chaos in the Tower. And we continue to do them. It's a shame, but we have absolutely no moral legitimacy!"
"…The Heretic Questioner is right," muttered the Black Dragon Master. "We've done too much to act as symbols."
"It's all right if you act well from now on. Please, act well."
"...."
"We're a team. I can't solve religious issues like the Heretic Questioner. I can't deal with gang troubles like the Venomous Snake, either. I can't match you in politics, economics, or security. I'm not being humble. It's the truth."
However.
"I'll never betray you. You can trust me."
I was confident I could bring these talented people together.
"If there is a problem between you, I will mediate. If you need to talk, I'll create a place for conversation. Trust me. Let's become one team."
"...."
The guildmasters were silent.
I held up the fairy tale, [Me and Our Scapegoat].
"As you said, this Apocalypse doesn't have a great resource within it. There isn't any fertile land, either. But there is an [unacceptable sacrifice] in here. Everyone. We cannot tolerate this sort of sacrifice. Let's show the world what kind of people we are by targeting this world."
That was right.
This was a declaration of intent.
A declaration that would show how we would manage the Tower.
We would not turn a blind eye to someone being sacrificed. We would face them. And if the difficulties couldn't be resolved, we would break through, head-on.
We would show the world that we were such people.
"That's how we can gain trust and ask the inhabitants of the Tower to believe in us."
"I see. A trust in the administration."
"Yes."
I looked at the guildmasters one by one.
"Fortunately, this Apocalypse allows two or more players. Black Dragon Master. Heretic Questioner. Count. Venomous Snake. Crusader…"
The most brilliant, all-star group in this Tower.
My colleagues.
"Please fight by my side."
All of us would participate in this Apocalypse.