3.
I thought it was strange.
「Hey, who are you?」
「Can you see me?」
At first, I simply considered it good luck.
Having an expert who had climbed up to the 99th floor by my side.
As I climbed higher, I began to truly appreciate how remarkable Bae Hu-ryeong's achievements were. The 99th floor. A realm only legends among legends could reach. Although Bae Hu-ryeong often adopted a bystander's attitude—I was undoubtedly lucky.
But then.
「Huh, this is odd. This shouldn't be happening.」
「Where did Marcus Calenberry go, and why is a greenhorn like you in front of me?」
「Can't you send me back to Marcus Calenberry right now!?」
That's why it was strange.
How could Bae Hu-ryeong so easily accept the fact that he had 'split into two'?
「You don't steal skills, you just copy them.」
「Meaning, there's 'another me' attached to Marcus Calenberry as Bae Hu-ryeong.」
The unparalleled in ancient and modern times. Peerless under heaven. Arrogantly believing himself to be the strongest in the world, a reckless and irresponsible martial artist who wouldn't tolerate another being the strongest—how could he so nonchalantly accept the fact that [I have been split into two]?
「Between you and Grandpa, I wonder who will achieve greater success as a hunter. It's a bit intriguing.」
Just out of mere curiosity, as Bae Hu-ryeong said?
「I'll help you.」
Because helping others is in Bae Hu-ryeong's nature?
「Let's conquer the tower together!」
No.
"Either of us reaching the 99th floor would suffice, wouldn't it?"
I said.
"Either Sword Saint or I. If just one of us reaches the 99th floor, your goal is achieved. You don't care about the means; just reaching the 99th floor is all that matters to you."
-....
"So even though you've attached yourself to Sword Saint and to me, multiplying yourself… you weren't flustered."
I had been mistaken.
It wasn't luck that found me.
"Because the possibilities had doubled."
It was Bae Hu-ryeong who had found luck.
"Sword Saint and I are different in nature. He is the heir to a wealthy family. I am an orphan with no parents. He, having achieved everything in his old age, plunged into the tower for another challenge… and I, who had achieved nothing in my youth, threw myself into the tower. A master of life, Sword Saint. Familiar with death, me. We were, literally, worlds apart."
So, Bae Hu-ryeong must have thought.
This is great.
"You possessed two completely different humans. As you can see, I tried my best to prove myself by tackling the tower, while Sword Saint is still stepping back, immersed in training like a hermit. Two types. Two methods. Two possibilities. You, you could experiment with them all."
Why?
Why undertake such an experiment?
"Your goal isn't just to take me to the 99th floor. Well, it is, but to put it more precisely. It's to get either Sword Saint or me, it doesn't matter who, to the 99th floor. That's your objective."
-Huh.
Bae Hu-ryeong laughed.
-Haha! Ahahaha!
As if extremely delighted.
-Ahahahaha!
With his arms crossed.
-Yes! That's right!
His hair red as the sun cascaded down.
-I can't hate you for this! Kim Gong-ja, you know how to calculate goodwill. No, you have to. You're convinced to your bones that people won't help you without any reason!
"It's probably a personality developed since childhood."
-While you create a plethora of reasons for helping others! Kehaha. Fine. I don't mind. No, I'm impressed you didn't treat me with unconditional goodwill.
How boring it must have been.
Not having a body of his own.
I couldn't roam the streets at will. Talking to other people was, of course, impossible. I could only follow where he went, and drift only in the places where he stayed.
Such was the daily life.
If a human endures such a life, if they willingly bear it, there's only one reason.
"Well done, Gong-ja."
Because there's a purpose they desperately want to achieve.
"Taking someone to the 99th floor. That's my job. That's my 99th-floor quest. But there's a misconception that needs correcting."
"What is it?"
"It's not just about reaching the 99th floor. If that were the case, I would have readily agreed when [Devil King of Fall Rain] tempted you. There's a particularly nasty condition…"
"You."
Someone murmured.
It was the elder.
"No, [you all]. What are you talking about?"
She still had her hand around my neck. However, unlike before, she wasn't squeezing it to death. Something more important than killing me, or eliminating Bae Hu-ryeong, had come up.
"Who are you talking to right now?"
"...."
"Is the Sword Emperor there?"
"Yes."
I nodded.
"He is here."
"...."
"I am not the reincarnation of the Sword Emperor. The Sword Emperor is definitely here, and I am definitely here too. Behind you, the Sword Emperor is standing relaxedly with his arms crossed. Probably from the moment he demolished the spire, climbed to the 99th floor, and until now… the Sword Emperor has never disappeared."
"...."
"He's always been here. Always striving."
The elder looked emotionless.
Emotionlessly turned around.
-Oh, hi. Nice to see you.
"...."
-I am the Sword Emperor with 40% transparency. If you wish to adjust the transparency, please contact the tower and purchase the DLC. A rip-off, you say? Oh, dear customer, it's unavoidable. That's the trend these days.
"I can't see."
-Of course, you can't.
"I can't hear."
-That figures.
"I can't see or hear."
She bit her lip hard.
"Then, what's the point?"
The elder clenched her fist.
A storm of magical power whirled around.
With her right hand still clutching my neck, she cast a spell with her free left hand.
It was a summoning spell, resembling a magnetic pull. Kwang! Boom! Buildings were split apart. From where the elder stood to the northwest of the city, a highway-like path suddenly opened in a straight line. Any building that was in the way was reduced to dust.
"——!!"
Through the forcibly created path, a hunter was dragged in. As if caught in an invisible grasp.
Whooosh!
The hunter's body flew in. The speed was unnaturally fast. The hunter's neck, as if this place was the intended destination from the start, fit precisely into the elder's left hand.
"—Kuh, ack!!"
A muffled scream.
"You are the apostle of [The Bell that Mourns the Dead]."
The elder murmured.
"Yes."
"Ugh, keuk… what… what do you want,"
"Use necromancy. Right now. Right here. There should be a spirit near me. Use any skill, whether it's [Soul of the Dead] or [Red Bridge Laid Between Heaven and Hell], it doesn't matter. Even beg your godforsaken Constellation for power. Just make it so I can talk to that damn spirit. Unless you want your head to explode."
"Sk, skill activation…"
A dark aura enveloped the area. Bae Hu-ryeong was undoubtedly within its range. The apostle, succumbing to the elder's threat and using the skill, shuddered.
"There's no one… No soul of a lion here…"
-It's useless.
Bae Hu-ryeong spoke.
-I am not a ghost. Strictly speaking, I am a [Skill]. I've been fundamentally blocked from physically interfering with this world at the skill level. I can only mentally intervene with the one who possesses the skill of 'me'. Elder, you do not possess me right now. Well, you never did.
"Use other skills. Use your powers."
"Skill activation…"
Light spread out.
"Next."
Light spread out.
"Next."
Light spread out.
"...."
No miracle occurred.
The hunter groaned.
"There's no one, Elder… No spirit near you. Though there's plenty of resentment, you originally surrounded yourself with exorcism magic to prevent the curses of the dead, didn't you? Who would choose to stay near you even in death…"
"Get lost. Idiot."
The elder flicked her left hand. The hunter was flung away in an instant, crashing into the outer wall of a building. Kwoong! Without even time to scream, the hunter collapsed.
"I'll kill you."
The elder glared at me again.
With gnashing teeth and fiercely resolute eyes, she looked at me.
"Make it so I can see that bastard right now."
-Ah, come on.
"Or, is it a lie? An act? Are you pretending to talk to someone who isn't even here to deceive me? Don't make me laugh. I'll kill you."
-He won't die.
"Should I show you how many times a human skull can be chipped away? I'll finely scrape your brain, starting from the edges. Your muscles. Bones. Organs. Nerves. I'll cut them thousands, tens of thousands, hundreds of thousands of times."
-In the end, you will be the one defeated.
"You're so calm. Or pretending to be. Maybe you're underestimating me. Fine. They call you the Death King, right? I'll ask you then. Answer me properly. I can inflict the worst pain on you. Speak."
Eyes that seemed to have decayed for a thousand years.
"Are you truly not afraid of death? You? A thing like you?"
"...."
I looked down for a thousand years.
"I'm sorry."
"Threatening me like that won't work. It doesn't change anything."
"...."
"The Sword Emperor told me."
You.
You have talent.
An immense talent at that.
Of course, you have no talent in martial arts.
But completely unrelated to those things, you have one very rare talent.
"I have no fear of death."
Precisely, I have overcome it.
I have overcome it until now. And I will in the future.
That's why.
Because he recognized that.
"The Sword Emperor chose me."
"...."
I could feel it.
The strength in the hand holding my neck was fading.
Bit by bit.
"The Sword Emperor never betrayed you. Grey Spider. He never once broke his promise with you."
"I…"
"I waited six years. I waited a whole six years for the Sword Emperor to clear the 99th floor. That should be enough, and I thought it would be more than enough to give up on myself."
"So,"
"It just took a little longer than that."
"I thought you were dead."
A voice minced into pieces.
"Of course… It's natural to think that you were dead. No. It's as good as being dead. What is this? Don't lie to me. You, it didn't even take you several years to reach the 99th floor. You are the Sword Emperor. Invincible. Said to conquer the tower alone. But why, why did it take so long? Don't lie to me. Why…"
"Skill card, open."
I reached out my hand towards the elder's face.
Right in front of her.
Her pupils must have been engraved with letters along with a bit of light.
+
[Sword Constellation]
Rank: A+
Effect: A ghost from another world. He cleared the 99th floor but failed the 100th floor and died. The resentment remained, causing him to become a ghost. He cannot interfere with the physical world, but it is possible to tamper with the owner's mind. Seek advice from his rich experience and amazing skills!
※However, no one except the owner can recognize Bae Hu-ryeong.
※This skill is copied from Hunter Marcus Calenberry.
+
An undeniable truth.
"...."
First, the strength in the grip loosened.
"...No. This is your failure. Your defeat. Constellation? What's the point of conquering the tower even as a Constellation? You became a god. You are a god."
-That's why.
Next, the sharp angle of her eyebrows crumbled.
-I never used the power of the Constellation. Not until now. Not in the future either.
Every time I relayed Bae Hu-ryeong's words out loud, one by one, slowly, the pillars supporting what had been known as the Grey Spider for a thousand years collapsed.
-I didn't use the power of messages. I discarded the faith that gathered. You can think of it as an excuse. But, I sprinted doing my best. Even becoming a ghost, I wanted to remain human. It's a funny story, isn't it?
The expressionlessness on her cheeks crumbled.
-Grey.
"...."
-I'm quite late.
Finally, the sneer at the corner of her mouth crumbled.
-I'm sorry.