1.
Dawn broke.
The color of dawn seemed to permeate into Kim Yul's silver hair. As Kim Yul was kneeling before me, I had the luxury of looking into the dawn instead of looking up. That's right. Dawn was at my feet.
[Your existence has become clearer.]
It was at that time that I heard the Tower's voice.
[The Death King's level develops.]
At the same time as the dawn shined brilliantly in the sky, the Tower once more verified my qualification.
Of course, this was natural.
I returned Estelle's body, returned the bodies of the members of the Demonic Cult, allowed Sylvia Evanail to have a life, and finally, embraced the life of Kim Yul. I, as I carried their greed, desire, wishes and hope— became clearer.
Became heavy.
Broader.
[Skill slots have increased.]
[Your Hunter rank is now A class.]
[May luck be with you.]
Yes, God.
God, who wanted to be the mother of everyone born into the world.
Ja Soo-jung. Even if those you considered your sons and daughters were to raise their claws and dig into you, you would only feel sad and slowly accept it, accepting it as your fault as well.
I.
Thought that was sad.
"If it was up to me, you wouldn't have to!"
Adjust the hilt of my sword, I looked up at the sky.
In the past, I was worried if the Tower could hear the voice of a guy like me. However, I wasn't now. Every word I said, every word I would say, would reach the ears of Tower— of Ja Soo-jung.
Because I was now that kind of existence.
"Please wait for me to get there! Whatever Golden Rule(黃金律), whatever kingdom, I will go clean them all up! You will be happier, with people to share that happiness, and I will show you that you were wrong!"
My declaration definitely reached the Tower.
Because an answer came down.
[May luck be with you.]
This day.
I declared war on the Tower.
2.
"From now on, we are a family clan."
I sat on the living room floor.
Only Raviel and I were sitting on the floor, so it was clear who had the right to sit on the throne.
"The name of our family clan will be the Death King Family(死王家)."
Hundreds of people were kneeling in the courtyard. They were all my vassals(家臣). The vassals could be seen prostrating themselves to me, if the courtyard was full, they went on the wall, if the wall was full, they even climbed to the top of a big old tree.
In a surprisingly short time.
There was sufficient troops to form a single family clan.
"I am the Family Head of this Family Clan, my husband, Raviel Ivansia…"
"I am also the Family Head of a Great Family Clan."
Tuk, Raviel tapped the floor with the head of her fan.
"The Head of the Death King Family is the wife of the Ivansia Family Clan. It would also make sense for the Husband of the Ivansia Family Clan to be the wife of the Death King Family Clan. All of the vassals here are lives harvested by Gong-ja. It wouldn't be cool for me to interfere just because I am Gong-ja's husband."
Raviel smiled confidently.
"Translated into the language of this world, the meaning of Ivansia is Silver Heart(銀心). So my family clan will aptly be called the Silver Heart Family(銀心家). One day, the Death King Family and the Silver Heart Family will be completely united, and when that day comes— we will become the Death Heart Family(死心家) and conquer the Tower."
That's right.
When that time comes, Raviel and I would be Joint Family Heads and lead our family clan.
"Sylvia Evanail."
When I called this name, the shoulders of one of the vassals kneeling in the courtyard shook. She was a blonde haired, noble young miss, and a powerful apostle of a constellation.
"Ye-, Yes! Family Head!"
"You will be the Grand Chamberlain of the Death King Family. You will take care of what the family clan's members eat, where they sleep, and what they wear. From time to time you can call the members of the four units of the Death King Army who are free to be chamberlains. I will leave the housekeeping needs of the family clan to you."
Sylvia Evanail sweated profusely.
"…did you say all sorts of chores and odd jobs?"
"I haven't forgotten what you yourself said."
Sylvia's expression hardened.
"A chamberlain is someone who follows the Family Head more closely than anyone else. If you want to be like me, if you want to be someone who can accept others, stay by my side and observe me. This is the opportunity that I am giving to you."
"I…"
"You can always quit if it's too hard."
I said this sincerely.
"However, the only thing that can prove your heart is your heart and life. Think about it. Choose your fight. And if you fight, win. That should be what your butler wanted."
"Dammiiit…"
And so, a Grand Chamberlain who always muttered words like [dammit], [shit] and [bitch], was born in our family clan. Compared to her bright blonde hair, her face was always dark. Every time her lips opened, curses would leak out, and from now, that would be [Grand Chamberlain Sylvia Evanail]'s routine.
"Estelle."
"Yes, Family Head."
When I called her, Estelle stood straight.
Unlike Sylvia's indecent display, Estelle's expression was indifferent and her momentum was orderly. In the breaths she let out, there was the afterimage of the Devil King who once destroyed a continent with an army of hundreds of thousands of monsters.
"Please give your orders."
"You are my eldest daughter, the successor who will lead the family in my stead in the event of an emergency."
"…"
A faint crack appeared on Estelle's mask at those words.
"Emergency… is a disrespectful word. The Family Head will never die…"
"I, of course, have a secret. Losing my life one or two times won't be enough to cause a crisis for our family clan. However, that doesn't mean that we shouldn't prepare for emergency situations. What would happen if I'm sealed if a very firm and wife vault, cursed so that I'm unable to use aura, and bound so tightly I couldn't even move my teeth let alone my arms and legs."
"...."
"Of course, even in that state I can use [Hundred Ghosts Reincarnation]. But what if someone puts me in a vegetative state?"
"Father…"
"I am not invincible, Estelle. The higher we climb in the Tower, the stronger the enemies will be. It is necessary to always expect the worst, and if that truly happens, I'd like you to lead the family clan."
"…"
Estelle closed her eyes.
She quietly sucked in a breath before exhaling a bit more strongly— the scent of potent ruin flowed from her mouth.
"Yes."
Estelle reopened her eyes reverently.
She grabbed her blade with both hands, then pressed her forehead to the crossguard.
"I, Estelle, will be the Successor of the Death King Family."
I nodded.
"Good."
We might still be inexperienced as parent and child.
However, if it was a relationship as [Family Head] and [Successor], we could do that well.
'There's no need to be impatient.'
This was a start.
Normal people became parent and child first then head of the household and successor. But that was only for those who had normal luck.
After being broken into pieces, we had been scattered across the world, and only met each other by accident, in reverse. We had no choice but to become a family backwards.
That was enough.
"You will be treated as the successor, but, normally, you will serve as Advisor and assist me."
"By asking me to be your advisor…"
"I mean the one I seek for advice. Estelle, you once led a great army in the past and brought down the kingdom and the holy land led the continent. I cannot compare to you when it comes to strategic sense and military knowledge."
As I climbed the Tower, I slowly began to feel it.
'The number of stages where individual Hunters could act on their own was gradually decreasing.'
On each stage, the size of the forces that appeared as enemies was getting larger and larger.
I had managed to clear the [Burning Mansion] by myself somehow.
But things had already become quite difficult from the tragedy of the [Aegim Empire].
Wasn't that stage originally a scenario where the high ranking Hunters played the roles of Grand General, Knight Commander, or Chancellor, to try and raise the dying empire [together]?
'I just dug into the blind spots of that stage.'
Single play was not normally allowed.
That action that I was referring to was no different from a cheat.
'Even the Great Library's books of Apocalypse forced [team play]. After entering the [Race War] it reached the point where we had to guide an entire race.'
This.
What did the flow of this series mean?
'The Tower is ordering us to create [forces].'
I narrowed my eyes.
'The list of stages in the Tower is never without meaning. No, [Ja Soo-jung] never did anything without meaning. This was a recommendation. A warning.'
It was a warning that if you didn't build a force in advance.
The difficulty beyond the 50th floor would become incredibly severe.
'I our Tower now, I am the only one aware of this warning.'
Because I was the only one who had come face to face with Ja Soo-jung.
Only I knew what kind of person the Owner of the Tower was, what she thought, and what she wanted.
And this would without a doubt serve as a huge advantage when attacking the Tower in the future.
'I have to raise a force.'
Fortunately, I had people around me.
A lot of people.
People who would mean more to each other than just being a large gathering of people.
'This is my luck.''
Thanks.
I was deeply grateful and thankful .
'We are strong.'
I looked around the courtyard.
The [Demonic Cult Warriors] prostrating themselves to me.
The [Four Demon Lords] who led the warriors.
The [Warrior Commander Uburka] who commanded the Four Demon Lords.
The [Grand Chamberlain Sylvia Evanail] who supported them from the back.
The [Family Shadow Kim Yul] who would organize an intelligence unit and act behind the scenes.
The [Advisor Estelle] who would advise me from my side.
They looked at each other's faces one by one, made eye contact and exchanged wills. The people who exchanged or shared death with me, and who had vowed to live together
'We are strong, and we will become stronger.'
I opened my mouth to Estelle.
"This dad is good at rescuing and uniting people. I can boast that I am quite competent in that regard. Dad can tell what kind of scars a person has by looking at them, and what I can't tell from looking at them, I can tell when I die."
"…"
"That's why father shares scars with people. Divided into a single family clan. If we try harder, we might become a family. However, this father is still inexperienced and lacking about how to make the ones I rescue and unite into a [force]. Very much so."
I smiled.
"So I'll need your help, Estelle."
"…"
"The history of you becoming the Devil King and destroying the continent was lost because of me. But it wasn't a pointless trauma."
Precisely.
"You can do it."
I gestured to Estelle.
Estelle approached me with cautious steps.
I took Estelle's hand, sat her down on the living room floor, and made her look in the same direction I was.
"Look."
I made her share my perspective.
"The scars you received while experiencing the trauma of your life are not just scars, and now you will protect the family clan. My family clan. Your family clan. Our family clan."
"…"
"No one will burn our family clan."
I spoke to the child who had become my daughter today.
And at the same time, I conveyed what I wanted to say to this child.
"This time, with the things you gained from destroying your world, protect the world."
Dawn broke.
As the dim glass color dyed the world, the color of the sky stayed on Estelle's face for a moment.
"…"
Estelle gave a small nod.
"…Yes."
Then nodded once more.
"Yes, I will protect it."
Estelle raised her left hand.
Then, she grabbed the skull mask which always covered half of her face, took it off, and threw it lightly towards the ground of the courtyard.
As soon as the old bone touched the ground, it crumbled into dust.
"I will protect our world."
Estelle turned her face to look at me.
Since becoming a hundred ghost, this was my first time seeing Estelle's entire face.
"Family Head."
The dew from the long night covered her face.
It was dawn now, so it wasn't strange to see dew form on things that were born into the world like blades of grass.
"I will be your Advisor."
So it also wasn't strange for Estelle to smile brightly.
"…"
Nodding silently, I finally got to my feet.
I looked up at the sky where the glass color was turning blue and shouted.
"We're done now."
The sky was quiet.
"The vacation has ended. Thanks to your consideration, I was able to see many things, and experience many things. Nevertheless, instead of making me weaker, the things I saw made me stronger. And instead of burning me, the things I experienced were burned by me."
The sky distorted.
"Now,"
A beam of light fell from the sky.
"Please send us to the next stage."
Then, a voice rang out from the sky.
[The constellation 'The Lady Who Walks Through the Mirage' is manifesting.]