1.
-The Ox that Harvests Ruins is 'Mutia'.
So, the blond priest boy had once said.
The Heretic Questioner stroked his chin.
-The main areas it governs are 'destruction' and 'recreation'.
-Simple but powerful.
At this time, the Heretic Questioner was wearing a flowing dress.
It was the period when he was impersonating the Lady of the Golden Silk.
Therefore, not only did the Heretic Questioner stroke his chin, but he also flicked open a fan and waved it, though such a description would probably be irrelevant.
-A sanctuary, in short, reinterprets the world and brainwashes people. The grand library we were in just before is the same! The librarian interprets the world as 'a collection of stories', and there we are forced to become 'characters in the story'.
-Thus, those who have their own set of rules.
-We defeat them with the rules we can use.
The Heretic Questioner smiled broadly.
-I define this as a Holy War and a Star War! (ED: From chapter 113)
2.
Koooooong!
A storm that lightly swept the surroundings struck. It was a single blow. Rocks turned into rubble, gravel into a sandstorm, and with just one strike, the surrounding area was scorched.
"Slippery as an eel, you are."
The ground cracked in a checkerboard pattern. The lines of the grid creaked and misaligned. Kwaaang! Kooong! Each time [The Ox that Harvests Ruins] swung its hammer, the misalignment intensified, and finally, the terrain was damaged beyond recognition of its original form.
"Try to avoid it forever, Death King."
Jjeojeojeok-
"You're not the first to try to run from me. There was one who exchanged blows with me until the moon waxed and waned 31 times. If you're planning to ask what became of him, it would be better to ask directly by yourself."
The ground flipped over.
"As, the moment your skull shatters, you will face your predecessor."
The terrain surged and the earth was in chaos. Jjeok! The ground was torn apart. From there, long-accumulated sedimentary layers were stripped away.
Mutia was not just showing off its strength.
"Peep!"
The moment Fox loudly warned, the ground collapsed.
Urrrrrrr!
Centered around where Mutia and I faced off, the entire ground of this area sank. I tried to avoid it, but Kooong! Mutia swung its hammer and blocked me. I had to choose whether to avoid the collapsing ground or the hammer flying at my head.
It wasn't a difficult choice.
Urrrrrr…! Kooong! Bang, rollllll...!
As a result, I took the risk of the ground collapsing. The altitude at which the two of us were fighting and exchanging blows became lower and lower, and every time the Constellation slammed the ground with its hammer, the speed of the collapse accelerated.
"Indeed."
Before long, our battlefield had turned into a colosseum.
If there was a difference from the Colosseum built in Rome, it was that it did not consider the audience at all.
Where the stands should have been, there were only steeply rising sedimentary rocks.
"Not just swinging a hammer at me… but changing the terrain to make it hard to run away."
The colosseum was an artificially created hell on earth. A place for living humans to watch and enjoy the bloodshed and massacre unfolding there.
A gladiator arena without stands is then nothing more than a mere living hell.
"That's right, young lad."
The one who had created a hell pit in a matter of minutes gripped the hammer again.
"Living as long as I have, one gets tired of achieving just one thing at a time. Achieving at least two goals simultaneously is not so much a virtue for us as it is a habit."
"If it's at least two, that means it could actually be three or even four."
"You're a quick-witted lad."
The Ox that Harvests Ruins.
Mutia looked up at the sky with golden hair flowing down and golden eyes.
['The Ox that Harvests Ruins' issues a quest to its followers.]
[You have been designated as the target of the quest!]
[The quest is revealed.]
I, too, raised my head following the Constellation.
+
[Annihilate your Enemy]
Difficulty: SS
Mission Objective: You have killed my follower. You have killed an apostle. You severed the voice of a child I had taken in and cut off their lifeline. Is there any reason I should not wring your neck now?
Die.
Compensate with your death.
I've heard you have caught the eye of many Constellations. There will be Constellations who will steal and read this proclamation by any means necessary. To such beings, I say: Do not interfere in this vendetta unless you are prepared to fight with me, Mutia, for eternity.
It is simple and clear: I wish for your death.
※However, you cannot participate in this quest.
※You are the [Target Objective] of the quest.
+
The moment the letters were engraved in the air.
"Attack."
Shadows appeared behind those characters. As many people as the letters, no, perhaps even more—from the opposite side of the Colosseum. From atop the high sedimentary rock formations, they leaped towards me all at once.
[An Apostle of the 'The Ox that Harvests Ruins' manifests.]
Each and every one of them.
[An Apostle of the 'The Ox that Harvests Ruins' manifests.]
All were like the Lady of the Golden Silk.
[An Apostle of the 'The Ox that Harvests Ruins' manifests.]
[An Apostle of the 'The Ox that Harvests Ruins' manifests.]
[An Apostle of the 'The Ox that Harvests Ruins' manifests.]
They were apostles.
"Is this your third trick?"
"Yes. They are the children who want to avenge the death of their fellow disciple."
"Not bad. Because she's the Lady of the Golden Silk, and a fellow disciple, hence the name Golden Silk." (ED: The Lady of the Golden Silk in hangul aka korean language is 금사매 영애, where 사매 means 'disciple of the same teacher,' thus validating Mutia's earlier comment about doing multiple things at one time.)
"Didn't I say? At this age, one aims for two birds with one stone. It's nothing to marvel at."
I gripped the hilt of my sword tightly.
About two hundred.
The apostles of The Ox that Harvests Ruins, Mutia, all wielded giant hammers. Should I say their hair was also uniform? They all looked similar. Whether short or long, their hair varied in length but spanned from transparent platinum to dark golden, all fluttering golden locks.
"Gold sprinkled across the galaxy."
I marveled at the scene unfolding above me. A meteor shower of gold was pouring down. The word Star War, once mentioned by the Heretic Questioner, suddenly crossed my mind.
"Ho."
Another voice also brushed my mind.
"You seem quite leisurely."
It was Mutia's telepathy.
"Reciting a poem with death looming over you. If I have two hundred apostles following me, they are sharper than the ten thousand soldiers Mahos commands. Death King. Are you so leisurely because, like me, you've prepared several tricks?"
"Well."
The two hundred apostles who jumped down were now right in front of me.
I drew up my aura.
"With just one sword, I can swing in two, three, four, five directions. Is there really a need to bother with additional schemes?"
Clash.
"You arrogant fool!"
Screeeeech!
The first to swing a hammer and collide with me was a petite warrior. She too was a qi manifestor. An aura user. Dressed in traditional clothing decorated with plum blossoms, her short bangs were neatly arranged, but her elegance and tidiness did not hide the warrior's rage.
"How dare you wag your tongue in front of Lord Mutia!"
"I could speak using only telepathy without wagging my tongue. Shall I?"
"I'll smash your head in!"
"That would be problematic."
Whooooosh!
Another apostle aimed for my side and swooped in, swinging a hammer. It was a combined attack. Thud! I stepped on the ground and rotated in mid-air like a half-moon. Then, with a kick, I struck the fingers of the short-haired warrior.
"Tch!"
"Damn it!"
The hammer barely missed my back, grazing past. The short-haired warrior was pushed back by my kick. The two apostles clicked their tongues and cursed.
Their first combined attack had failed.
"Shiny."
[Shiny responds, "Yes, hero."]
The first two who took the lead must have been the most skilled in martial arts.
I estimated the average skill level of the apostles.
"Let's open the true names for the first time in a while."
['Goddess of Protection' manifests the power of five swords.]
Swoosh.
Apart from the sword I was holding, four swords rose from the shadows. Shadow swords. Like thick blueberry jam, the shadows clung darkly to the swords as they began to circle around me.
[Salvation Sword receives the command of the Death King.]
[Sacrifice Sword receives the command of the Death King.]
[Prayer Sword receives the command of the Death King.]
[Compassion Sword receives your command.]
There.
The Holy Swords that turned Kim Yul, an ordinary student, into the progenitor of the Aegim Empire. Let's see you withstand this.
I immediately swung all five swords at once without any delay.
"Be careful!"
The short-haired apostle shouted.
"That bastard is immune to the [Indestructible Body] blessing! We feel pain if we're cut too! Be careful not to get—-."
"Ah. If it were that easy, you fellow disciple wouldn't have lost."
Screams echoed.
"Right?"
In mid-air, five paths of sword dance unfolded noisily. "Ugh," "Gasp!", "Aaaah! Aaaah!", the apostles who were charging at me, those still jumping down from above, and those who were trying to press me from the front. They each grabbed their throats or clutched at their chests, screaming.
"Uh, gugh...!"
The short-haired apostle glared at me with furious eyes. Even that warrior was holding her throat.
[Pain without Wounds].
The second power of the Holy Sword, namely the Compassion Sword, had stabbed the apostle's throat.
"Kuk! Ugh...."
She must be tasting the pain of having her throat pierced by now. It's impressive she can still look up at me without losing consciousness.
Koong. Kooong.
Around me, apostles cut by my sword were fainting from the excessive pain. The hammers they dropped from their hands fell to the ground with a heavy sound.
"The second most foolish thing in this world is ganging up on me, and slightly more foolish than that is doing so with a weapon like a hammer. How many can you move at once with those coffin-sized hammers? Three, at most?"
"Kill you…!!"
"How terrifying."
I cut the short-haired apostle's head with the Compassion Sword. An invisible wound, no, pain pierced right through the middle of the apostle's throat.
The apostle collapsed as if her string had been cut.
"I won't inflict unnecessary pain on those who don't come at me anymore. Not piercing your eyeballs or tearing apart your organs is my consideration for you. However, I don't know how long my patience will last."
"...."
The apostles hesitated and looked back at their god.
Mutia, holding the hammer, looked at me expressionlessly.
"You're capable enough to threaten the Magic Tower."
"The Lady of the Golden Silk is still alive."
I attempted to negotiate.
"It's true I cut down Sylvia. But now, Sylvia has joined my family and is working as the chief servant of the Death King Family. Her life is probably happier now than when she was with you. At least, it would be more comfortable. Declaring vengeance on me is misdirected…."
"Yes. Some Constellations might think that way."
Mutia nodded.
"Have you ever thought about what it's like to be a god?"
I blinked.
"Excuse me?"
"Your humans always pray for wishes. Make me rich. Make me healthy. I fulfill those wishes in exchange for your faith."
Sssk.
As Mutia spoke, the apostles one by one stepped back and reorganized their formation around me.
'The god is buying time while his followers regroup.'
I clearly saw through the trick but didn't stop it.
This too was part of the negotiation.
In exchange for tolerating this, Mutia, the Constellation, a god, willingly engages in dialogue with me.
"But what if I twist your wishes and fulfill them?"
"Twisted?"
"I fulfill the wish. However, for those who wish to be rich, I bestow [a sense of satisfaction that one feels rich without earning more money]."
"...."
"For those who wish for health, I grant a personality that is fully satisfied with the body they currently have. To be content with oneself now, to be happy, I give them a different personality, a different nature. I ask you, child who claims to be a king."
The golden Constellation spoke.
"Is that also fulfilling their wish?"
"...."
"There are Constellations who think so. Many. But I am different. If all that's needed is a lesson to live content with the present, why pray to a god at all? I only cherish those who wish upon me in the moment of their desire."
Indeed.
"I freed Sylvia from the shackles of hatred and vengeance."
"That was neither a wish made to you nor to me."
"I guided Sylvia, who had dedicated her life to the thought of killing, towards another life."
"That wasn't the life she wished for."
"Now, Sylvia would wish for her current life too."
"You must have brainwashed her."
"Is Sylvia's own will not important?"
"The desire at the moment of making a wish to me is more important."
"I saved Sylvia."
"To me, that is the death of that child."
"How can a person changing be considered death?"
"Correct. But that's the logic of your human world, not an excuse that a god should resort to."
Mutia raised the hammer.
It was precisely the same timing as when the apostles had finished regrouping.
"One exception leads to ten, ten exceptions lead to a hundred habits, and a hundred habits solidify into one life. Death King. There are no exceptions in the life of a god."
"...."
"That child prayed to me for a wish, and I accepted it. That's all. I will take back the soul of that child you have taken in. I ask you, is there room for negotiation here?"
Is that so?
"There is none. We have no choice but to fight."
At that moment.
"Peep."
The Fox responded to my will.
[You are a follower of 'A Music Box Only for You'.]
['A Music Box Only for You' assigns you a quest.]
Proof that I, who belonged to nowhere, now stand under the constellation of Fox.
It wasn't a common quest issued by the tower, nor a quest ordered by the Constellation in charge of the stage, but a quest exclusively woven for me by my own Constellation.
+
[The Golden God]
Constellation: A Music Box Only for You
Difficulty: S
Mission Objective: Defeat [The Ox that Harvests Ruins] Mutia, the ruler of the 62nd floor. Mutia is targeting a member of your family.
※However, if Sylvia Evanail's allegiance is transferred to Mutia, or if your allegiance is transferred, you will be defeated.
+
The objective was simple. And clear.
Thus, I swung my sword without hesitation.
Mutia, too, without a moment's hesitation, brought down the hammer.
Koooooong!
The divine will of a Constellation and my conviction collided.