1.
Even if it's only three times, that's enough for me.
In my life, please let me do as I wish.
In exchange, take everything I have.
I stayed up all night, and looking back, there was only one choice left.
2.
"Are you the Death King? Such an extravagant alias. So grandiose it's almost laughable! Remember this. I am one of the Thirteen Evil-Exterminators. The one who collapsed the eternal cliff. The master of the waves crashing against every shore, the ninth Sea Lord, the Pirate General, the Madman...!"
Cham.
"I heard you defeated the Madman Blood Sea Army! Quite impressive. I heard you broke through ten floors at once! Indeed, certainly, without a doubt, you are a sacred being, the first of its kind since the Sword Emperor! But remember this. Every constellation shining in the night sky was once called a sacred being. Allow me to introduce myself, oh! Why bother saying it! A living witness of the miracles of sacred beings! Thirteen Evil-Exterminators! The pine cone that sings in the white night, the Forester, and that alias too terrifying to utter...!"
Cham.
"I won't speak at length. The longer the tongue, the shorter the life. Be afraid. Tremble in fear. Today, I will reveal to you one truth…."
Cham.
"Uh. Could you please spare my life? Of course, I did torment people a bit. No, quite a lot actually… Wait! Just a moment! Stop! No, it's natural for someone to become cranky living over 200, 300 years! Having enjoyed every pleasure there is, what other joy is there but to torment others besides me! No. Wait. You shouldn't go in there… No, no! Please wait! That bloodstain isn't human! It's true! …Ah. Damn, forgot to clean up after killing…."
Cham.
"I have no regrets. You know? Torturing the living, it's really enjoyable."
Cham.
"So, you think you're so great?"
Cham.
"Strong, aren't you. The Death King. The Sword Emperor earned the title of emperor despite being just a hunter. What's next, a king? The tower is indeed strange. Hao ran. Hao sheng. Hao si. If your life is inevitable, then your name too must be fated, and in this moment, my end is also not by chance." (ED – hao ran (好然). hao sheng (好生). hao si (好死) = Auspicious. Good health. Good death)
Cham.
"...Damn it. Damn it all! I, I did nothing wrong...."
Cham.
"This is driving me crazy."
"So that's why I said from the start that all twelve of us should attack together… Why did no one listen to me until we were reduced from twelve to three? Brothers, are you idiots? Thinking about it, you were idiots… It's a terrible trade-off, to have your throats slit because your ears were closed…"
"Uhahahaha! Death King! Don't think this is a victory! Even though the Thirteen Evil-Exterminators will perish, there will be twice, three times more enemies to block your path! As long as our brotherhood's will continues, anytime—-."
ChamChamCham.
"Phew."
I wiped the sweat off my forehead with the back of my hand.
"It really was a tough and lengthy battle..."
[Shiny assesses the battle as epic like a grand drama!]
"Hmm. If it had been recorded, it would have been planned for a 102-episode series, but it became a legendary chronicle extending to parts 2, 3, and finally 4, amid love and attention. And then, due to an unfortunate incident, it would have been abruptly cancelled, becoming an even more painful legend…."
[Shiny agrees wholeheartedly!]
Bae Hu-ryeong watched our duo's self-praise with a look of disbelief.
– Are you guys filming a comedy? It was just cutting down twelve hunters, right?
"Ah. Thinking about it, why were there only twelve if they were called the Thirteen Evil-Exterminators? I should have asked before cutting them down, but I forgot."
[■■■■ ■■ ■■■■ ■■■ ■■■■■.]
– Well, one of them was cut down by me 150 years ago.
"Indeed. Even after 150 years, they haven't replenished their ranks…"
Even the 60th floor suffers from a manpower shortage.
As numerous hunters aspire to climb the tower, the reality of a shortage in the upper levels left me feeling bittersweet. I sheathed my holy sword.
-Hmm.
Bae Hu-ryeong glanced over, arms crossed.
He wasn't looking at me.
His gaze was beyond my shoulder, towards the fortress where the Thirteen Evil-Exterminators had been holed up. The fortress was ablaze, emitting plumes of smoke. Even from this distance, the acrid smell of fire wafted over.
-Zombie, huh.
"I know."
I spoke nonchalantly.
"They're persistent. They've followed us again."
-It's getting on my nerves. How many days has it been?
"Hmm."
I tilted my head.
"About two weeks?"
-Aw, it's stressing me out. Hey, hey. Why don't you just go and catch them? How long are you going to ignore them?
"They're just following, not showing any hostility. Just looking. If they're not openly hostile, I plan to leave them be."
That was the situation.
I was being stalked, probably.
I say 'probably' because I really have no idea who, why, or what purpose they have in following me.
-What if that thing is an assassin?
Bae Hu-ryeong proposed an extreme hypothesis.
-Considering you spared those spiders, there must be more than a couple of people holding a grudge against you by now.
"If someone feels they can only survive the day by sending an assassin after me, if they're that consumed by vengeance, they'd send the assassin to the spiders they have a grudge against, not me, right?"
I shrugged my shoulders and started walking.
"Besides, just in case, I deliberately showed vulnerabilities yesterday and the day before. When I was sleeping outdoors. But it never approaches within a certain distance."
-That's strange… What is it? Why is it following you?
"Maybe it likes me."
-Ahaha. Must be someone with a rotten brain.
"At least not as rotten as someone's character."
-Aaahng?
"What? What's up?"
We walked down the forest path, bonding as usual.
The mysterious X maintained a constant distance, neither closing in nor falling back.
"Ah."
With the presence in the back of my mind, I suddenly thought.
"I'm thirsty. Isn't there a stream somewhere that's so refreshing it cools you to the stomach? Such a forest should have one."
That's when it happened.
[■■■■ ■■ ■■■■ ■■■ ■■■■■.]
Joljoljol.
As soon as I stepped through the forest, there was a stream, as if on cue. Two deer-like animals were dipping their noses in the water, lapping it up. It meant the water was safe to drink.
"Oh. Lucky."
I approached the stream nonchalantly. The deer on the other side glanced at me as if to say, 'What's that ugly animal?' but I ignored them.
A water bottle would have been convenient, but Homo sapiens have hands.
I scooped up water with my hands and gulped it down.
"Kyaa! So refreshing! I feel alive now."
-....
"Huh? What is it? Why are you looking at me like that? Got something to say?"
-No… It's just strange.
"What exactly is strange?"
Bae Hu-ryeong furrowed his brow.
-Kim Zombie. Haven't you been too lucky these days?
"Excuse me?"
Too lucky?
"What do you mean?"
-Look. Just when you're thirsty, a stream appears. It was the same yesterday, the day before, even the day before that. Actually, when I think about it, you've had strangely good luck for the past ten days.
Really?
I wasn't sure.
-Does it make sense to find a water source wherever you go in this vast 60th floor?
Bae Hu-ryeong was passionate in his argument.
-And whenever you think of getting some sleep, there's always kindling nearby. It's absurd. You might not realize it, living in a world where drinking water and heating are taken for granted, but this is unreal luck?
"Not exactly a world taken for granted…"
I frowned.
[■■■■ ■■ ■■■■ ■■■ ■■■■■.]
And I countered Bae Hu-ryeong's argument.
"Sword Emperor~nim. But that's not the strange part. Because, we deliberately chose this path [knowing there was a water source in this direction] in the first place, didn't we?"
-…What? What are you talking about?
"What are you talking about? We obtained information [in advance] that there was a stream here, and planned our route to avoid hunger and thirst. Remember, before leaving the village?"
-....
Just as Bae Hu-ryeong was about to speak.
[■■■■ ■■ ■■■■ ■■■ ■■■■■.]
Slowly, his expression turned curious.
-…Right. That's true.
"Yes. You told me that the 60th floor is vastly different from the stages we've climbed so far, that it's incredibly wide, and that we'd be lost without prior knowledge of the map and geography, so we should prepare thoroughly. That's why I gathered all that geographic information in the village. Why are you talking nonsense now?"
-Right… That's what I said. Hmm? It really was like that.
Bae Hu-ryeong crossed his arms.
-Why did I think your luck was strangely good…? It wasn't luck but the result of thorough preparation…?
"That's what I'm saying. Just talking about weird stuff with you made me hungry."
I sent out my aura, whoosh, and caught a deer-like animal. It seemed the deerling, not used to seeing humans, didn't even have the instinct to be wary and was caught by me while drinking water.
It was a simple hunt.
"Good thing there's meat nearby."
-....
"Ah, there's dry firewood. Lucky. Let's have a barbecue today."
-…Were the animals on the 60th floor always this docile? No. Wait a minute. Why are there ordinary animals here? If I remember correctly, this area used to be overflowing with demonic beasts…
[■■■■ ■■ ■■■■ ■■■ ■■■■■.]
-But not only demonic beasts. Hmm. So, you think it's fair you get to eat something delicious alone?
"It's damn good."
-You bad guy.
"Good guy?"
-Weird guy.
That's when it happened.
"Ako-koko…"
From the bushes in the [opposite] direction we had come from, someone burst out. It was a small boy. He arrived at the stream and immediately collapsed with a thud.
"Oh."
Holding the freshly grilled deer leg, I quickly approached the boy.
"Are you alright?"
"Uuh… Meat… Meat…"
The boy sniffed around with a vacant expression, as if smelling with her soul rather than her body. Apparently, the scent of the grilled deer meat had drawn her here instinctively.
I couldn't help but give her the meat.
"Here you go. Eat slowly."
"Uuu… Th-thank you…"
The boy took the leg from me and started gnawing at it hungrily.
"Cough! Ehk, huk-huk! W-water…"
"Oh."
[■■■■ ■■ ■■■■ ■■■ ■■■■■.]
"Here. Drink this."
Fortunately, I had a [water bottle] with me. It was a good thing, really. If I hadn't had the water bottle, I would have had to scoop water with my hands to give to the boy, which would have been quite awkward to watch.
"Hwa!"
The boy drank the water hurriedly, spilling it around her mouth. Gulping down, her throat bobbing, He finally looked relieved, as if he was going to survive.
"Thanks to you, I'm alive!"
"Don't mention it. In a place like this, wanderers should help each other."
"If you weren't here, I would have starved to death… You're my savior…"
The boy shyly looked up at me, glancing at me with a lowered face.
Despite wandering through the forest, the boy's attire and hair were remarkably neat. There was a sense of having endured hardship, but not a hint of being dirty, you could say?
Above all, he was incredibly beautiful. Really incredibly so. Ever since meeting Raviel, I hadn't given much thought to people's appearances, but this boy slightly twisted the instinctual habit engraved in me.
I smiled gently.
"If I could be of help, then I'm truly glad."
Well, just thinking to myself.
Raviel is much prettier.
"...."
The boy slightly furrowed her eyebrows.
Then, lowering her head, he mumbled to himself.
"...Strange... Could it be... Yes, if it's like this...?"
[■■■■ ■■ ■■■■ ■■■ ■■■■■.]
I tilted my head in confusion.
"Did you just say something?"
"No."
Then the boy lifted her head and beamed a bright smile.
"It's nothing!"
Her smile was radiantly cheerful.
Considering the tattered state of her clothes and the numerous wounds on her body, it was hard to guess how long he had wandered in the forest, but the boy didn't lose her smile and tried her best to convey her gratitude to me.
A natural cheerfulness radiated from her face.
"I've been remiss. I haven't even asked the name of my benefactor!"
"Ah."
"Kind benefactor, could you please tell me your name?"
I smiled.
"Of course. My alias is the Death King."
"The Death King… Death King!?"
The boy was startled.
"The Death King? Are you the one who recently cleared ten floors all at once!?"
"Hmm. Yes. That would probably be me."
"Wow! Amazing! What luck…! The Constellations were all abuzz, and I wondered who it could be. To think I'd encounter you in this forest where I was lost!"
Thump.
The boy excitedly grabbed my hand.
"It's such an honor to meet you!"
While beaming a smile so bright it could dim the sun.
"I'm a fan of the Death King!"