1.
Right after slaying a Constellation.
Let's talk about something else for a moment.
I'm not sure if this is the right time to bring this up, but what does it matter?
I had the right to ramble on as I pleased.
So.
A long, long time ago, back when dinosaurs roamed the earth and tobacco sales targeting them were quite profitable, it is said that every stationery store had a 100-won gacha machine in front of it.
During this period, gacha enthralled children.
Of course, I wasn't even born during that era, so I know little about the gacha craze.
However, I have always harbored a very rational level of suspicion that perhaps my seniors were captivated by it, leading to the era after dinosaurs went extinct when gacha games were rampant on mobile phones, even from the distant days of my childhood.
Why suddenly talk about gacha?
Of course, there is a perfectly rational reason.
[The presence of 'The Eye Living in the Labyrinth' fades.]
The moment I sliced through the massive serpent in a straight line.
"Kieeeek!!"
From between the segments of the snake's body, that is, inside the body cut into left and right parts, a very small snake, almost indistinguishable from a worm, popped out with a snap!
"...."
Hmm.
Cutting through the giant snake resulted in a much smaller snake springing out.
At that moment, I recalled the gacha that popped open to reveal a toy inside.
What? Why?
Just because.
['The Eye Living in the Labyrinth' manifests.]
The snake that crawled out from the serpent's corpse was small enough to fit in the palm of my hand. Sorry to keep comparing it to a worm, but honestly, it looked like it could be bullied by a slightly larger worm.
Yet, its scales resembled the waves of the sea.
Its distinct inverse eyes shone brightly with color, even from its tiny body.
"Uuum...."
Ultimately, based on logical reasoning, I could only mutter the following.
"Could you possibly be… the true body of Hishmith Kritz?"
"Kieeeee-!!"
The worm-sized snake cried sorrowfully.
['The Snake Living in the Labyrinth' cannot hide its crying out of frustration.]
The snake, bending its body, repeatedly struck my palm with its upper body, seemingly trying to express its [injustice] to the fullest extent possible.
Had I seen this scene alone, I might have felt a bit of pity.
"Wow, what's this? Really? This real-life worm is 'The Eye Living in the Labyrinth'? Amazing."
However, wrapped around my neck, a natural for attracting aggro from Constellations, was the fox~nim curled up and sitting.
"What do we do with this guy, huh? What should we do? If you go in front of the followers in this form and shout, [I am the Constellation that governs all secrets! The Eye Living in the Labyrinth!], not only will you not gather faith, but the faith you have gathered so far will fly away like wild birds, won't it?"
"This bastard…!"
"This bastard? You say bastard? You still haven't come to your senses! Maybe we should quickly call the Apostles and have them professionally nourish this divine body. Ah, calling the Apostles shouldn't be too hard, right? Umm? Uh-huh? If I press this, will the emergency alert activate and communication open...?"
"This deity…!"
The real snake on my palm shed tears drop by drop.
It seemed quite upset.
"Please don't reveal this form to the followers..., please! I beg you!"
"Hmm."
I scratched my cheek.
-Hey, Kim Zombie.
Meanwhile, Bae Hu-ryeong spoke softly.
-Calm down your anger.
'When did I get angery? I'm the same as usual.'
-The same? What do you mean the same? You're heated because your friend was insulted. Don't try to fool me. Fool a ghost instead. Though, I am a ghost.
Bae Hu-ryeong sighed.
-Really now. If you look closely, there's no one as emotional as this guy. Really. People don't know that. He just lives by his emotions and dies by them, sigh.
"...."
Right.
Although I hate to admit it, Bae Hu-ryeong's jest had its effect.
A lot.
"Hmm."
I gently touched the handkerchief.
The heightened emotions, the desire for revenge, various flames of anger I felt during the recent fight calmed down in an instant.
By the time I was nodding my head, I had completely returned to my usual calm.
'Thank you. I've calmed down.'
-That's right.
'Yes. Now that I'm fine, hmm. Let's see.'
['The Warhorse of the Eternal Plains' laughs uproariously at this scene!]
['The Lone Seeker of Truth' is shocked by the scene in front of him and repeatedly hits the desk.]
['The Incarnation of Love and Lust' laughs, saying it's the first time in ten years they've laughed like this.]
First, I need to deal with them.
"Excuse me, but from now on, I wish to speak only with Hishmith Kritz, just the two of us. Discussions may include strategies for conquering stages and other military secrets. I am very thankful for the interest from all the Constellations, but I kindly ask you to step back for today."
Fortunately, the Constellations immediately agreed to my polite request.
['The Warhorse of the Eternal Plains' withdraws.]
['The Incarnation of Love and Lust' asks to please record this scene on video as they withdraw.]
['The Lone Seeker of Truth' disappears, unable to stop laughing no matter what.]
Good.
I've dealt with the outsiders.
Now it's really time to get to the main topic.
"Hishmith Kritz~ssi."
With a voice devoid of any emotion, I respectfully bowed my head towards the small snake in my palm.
The snake seemed a bit startled too. If a real snake could have a facial expression, it would be awkwardness.
The real snake spoke.
"Hi, Hishmith Kritz… My authority lies in secrets and revelations, labyrinths, and mazes. O, Death King. The sky that gathers screams."
"Yes."
I nodded.
"As you said, my name is Kim Gong-ja. I'm a newbie who has just caught the tail end of becoming a Constellation. I have a few questions to ask, if you have the time?"
"…Of, of course it's fine. Speak."
On my right palm, Hishmith Kritz curled up, visibly tense.
I sighed once more and said,
"Why did you try to attack me? Even going so far as to team up with Mutia for a surprise operation."
"…For a reason similar to that bastard. Because of you, that guy can no longer grant the wishes of humans in reincarnation without conditions. She has become a power that requires your permission, which is utterly ridiculous. That's not even a Constellation anymore, let alone a god."
The small snake god's lament, of course, was also directed at itself.
"The two most common wishes my followers pray for are these: [Please let me know that guy's secret]. [Please ensure that no one knows my secret]. From my point of view, both wishes are equally important. 99% of the reason my followers rely on me and send their faith is because of those wishes."
"So, there was a problem?"
"Exactly. All because of you!"
The real snake cried out.
Again, it was a real snake.
No matter how loudly the real snake cried, it had no force, and it only caused an effect less significant than a breeze brushing through my hair.
"…Kuk."
Realizing this, the snake began to recite in a low voice, with a look of injustice on its face.
"I provided my followers with the highest level of security. Except for me, Hishmith Kritz, no one else could handle the secrets of a follower. But then...
"Ah."
I realized.
"The Trauma penalty? Don't tell me that because of that, a security flaw has emerged?"
"Euk.... .... ...Yes, that's… correct...."
The real snake buried its head in my palm. Thump. Thump. It wasn't apologizing to me but was punishing itself for its foolish judgment by self-inflicted headbutting.
"Thanks to you, you've essentially made it possible to uncover everyone's past! Any secret is merely a treasure chest that requires a bit of effort in front of you. And in your hands, you might as well hold the golden key that can unlock any chest!"
"Indeed."
"I've become unable to guarantee [perfect secrecy]… My apostle, on the 50th floor, had his entire past exposed through trauma while none of the security barriers and system structures I had set up worked at all. They were utterly useless!"
I see.
I nodded.
"It seems your authority has suffered irreversible damage."
"Yes! And let me say again, it was all your doing!"
"I've said this to Mutia as well. Originally, [The Returner's Clockwork Watch] was designed by you folks with the thought that it would be fun, wasn't it?"
"Ugh...."
"It's karma. You were arrogant and careless, living without knowing how your actions would come back to you, and finally, the arrow returned to pierce the back of your heads."
It was a staple of mythological themes.
"Consider it a relief that you were defeated by such a divine cliché. It was fate from the beginning."
"Kiuuuu… Kieck...."
It was when I was stroking the body of the Constellation that had become a real snake with my finger.
"Is the story roughly settled?"
Thump.
"It's been quite a while since I've seen the egg of a serpent god. Or rather, not the egg but the inside of an egg. So, the inside of a completely closed metamorphosis dust looks like this. Heh."
[The Wand Of Ages].
One of the only six pillars in the tower.
"Magician."
"Yep. I was the arbiter of this duel, so it's only right that I distinguish between the winner and the loser. Congratulations! The winner is the Death King. The loser is [The Eye Living in the Labyrinth]. This is an irreversible result that has been engraved in the tower. The victory and defeat of the two are guaranteed by me, a pillar."
However, and.
The magician winked one eye.
"Also, because I'm in charge up to the 70th floor. Within the 70th floor, a somewhat free stage arrangement is possible."
A slightly ominous premonition hit me.
"Excuse me. By free arrangement, you mean…?"
"It's simple. Tenants can choose to leave the house with or without taking their deposit back, and landlords don't stop tenants from leaving or new tenants from coming if they wish."
Thump.
The magician tapped the air with his wand, and a hologram unfolded.
A cartoonishly drawn map from the 61st to the 70th floor.
On the 61st, 62nd, and 63rd floors, my face was drawn. Additionally, the fox~nim wrapped around my neck. Our faces were depicted somewhat comically like caricatures.
The 64th, 65th, 66th, 67th, 68th, 69th, and 70th floors were different.
Faces I had never seen before were reigning as the masters of the stages.
"Now."
The magician danced a little shoulder dance while holding the wand.
"For exactly six minutes from now, from the 64th to the 70th floor, free trading is allowed~."
The magician's somewhat playful words were filtered through an emotionless message and echoed throughout the tower again.
[Free trading is now available from the 64th to the 70th floor.]
[The time limit is 06:00.]
[Tenants and those wishing to rent, please trade freely.]
"...."
What in the world is happening?
As I stared blankly at the hologram the magician had drawn, failing to grasp the situation, a message appeared.
[The 64th floor stage is listed for sale.]
[The manager of the 64th floor, 'The Righteous Nine-Tailed Fox,' promises to hand over the stage management rights to anyone interested, regardless of the deposit, monthly rent, or anything else!]
Huh?
I'm not sure how transactions among Constellations work, but from my human perspective, that offer seems absurdly unreasonable.
[The next in line after the 63rd floor is the 64th floor.]
However, the very next moment, I realized the cause of this phenomenon.
['The Righteous Nine-Tailed Fox' screams that if they can escape the path of this Death King, they wouldn't mind giving away the stage management rights for free!]
[The 65th floor stage is listed for sale.]
[The manager of the 65th floor, 'A Goose is Still a Goose When Flipped,' flaps away into the distance!]
[The 66th and 67th floor stages are listed for sale.]
[The managers of the 66th and 67th floors, 'The Rubber Duck That Oversees the Ocean,' deflate themselves and sink deep into the sea!]
The cause of this unprecedented stage tenancy auction race was none other than me.
Kim Gong-ja.