4.
I tilted my head in confusion.
"A madman, you say?"
Villager F: 「Yes, that's right. If you keep going that way, there's a very dangerous madman. You shouldn't approach him! ...Of course, talking to thin air on the middle of the street of Jungin-hwan city, you also seem quite the madman…. 」
This damn guy?
Villager F: 「If you're a bit of a strange madman, the one living over there is a very dangerous madman. He cut down anyone who approaches! 」
"Huh."
Villager F: 「Among us, he's called the [Mad Warrior]. Since he settled there, not a single person has been able to cross to the lands beyond…. Any sort of exchange has completely ceased. 」
I grasped the situation.
This world stretches only to the sides. When some madman appears and blocks the path, from that day forward, the traffic is cut off.
"Isn't there a detour?"
Villager F: 「There used to be…. But it's been a long time since the madman appeared. It might have easily been over a hundred years. That madman destroyed all the detours that could bypass the area he blocked. Even if we forcefully create detours, he smashes them as soon as he sees them. There's no way to withstand that. 」
Truly a madman.
Originally, even if the path was blocked, it was possible to bypass it by digging tunnels or building sky bridges. 'Tunnels' are exactly what they sound like, paths made by digging underground. 'Sky bridges' are paths created by erecting pillars and laying a bridge. However, the [Mad Warrior] crushed all such detours.
"Is he that strong, the Mad Warrior?"
Villager F: 「Didn't I say? Despite the long time that has passed, it's still the same. Over the years, numerous warriors who challenged the madman have lost their heads. Now, no one dares to challenge him anymore. Thanks to that, the trade between the east and west has completely collapsed!」
The villager made a gloomy face (· ω ·). The faces of other villagers listening to our conversation were not much different. Actually, they were exactly the same. And so, several villagers simultaneously made the (· ω ·) (· ω ·) (· ω ·) (· ω ·) expressions.
All of them looking at me.
It's kind of scary….
Villager F: 「I don't know how far you plan to travel, but it would be wise to make a U-turn from this village.」
The villager advised with a resigned expression (; -Д-).
Villager F: 「What lies ahead is practically no different from being off-limits. It'd be best to rest for a day and then turn back.」
I gratefully accepted the hospitality and spent the night in the home of one of the villagers.
After a few questions to determine whether I was a dangerous traveler, the villagers seemed to have concluded that I was completely harmless. They treated me with utmost courtesy as their guest.
"Just need to take care of the Mad Warrior and then I can leave."
Lying in the bedroom provided by the villagers, I spoke to Bae Hu-ryeong.
"It's something that can be cleared anytime. That madman is, so to speak, a monster. A monster of this world. Who knows when another hunter will come up again to the 75th floor, if I just ignore and pass by, it might be decades before anything changes."
Idiot: 「Does it really matter? It's up to you.」
Bae Hu-ryeong replied indifferently.
However, Bae Hu-ryeong has always been a frank person, dead without his honesty. Especially here, where expressions are vividly visible. When Bae Hu-ryeong made a somewhat troubled expression (;ㄱ_ㄱ), it was impossible not to notice, even if I didn't want to.
"Why? You look like a fool."
Idiot: 「No.... Hmm. Let's just say that this Mad Warrior or whatever is considered the strongest in this world. And I don't remember, but I definitely cleared the 75th floor.」
"Yes, well. That might be the case."
Idiot: 「So, it bothers me. If it were me, I would have definitely taken down a guy holding the title of the world's strongest, right? It's puzzling how such a person is still alive.」
"Hmm."
It was a valid point. But since it wasn't exactly impossible, I simply responded.
"I guess he appeared newly after you cleared this place. What's strange about that?"
Idiot: 「Is that so…?」
Bae Hu-ryeong made a face of discomfort but couldn't refute my words. It was the most plausible possibility. We no longer bothered about it and slept soundly.
The next day, we headed towards the location where the madman was said to be lurking.
Villager F: 「I told you, young man, you shouldn't go there!」
It seems that whether an outsider had spent the night without any issues was a significant distinction. The villagers were much friendlier than yesterday and tried even harder to stop me.
Villager F: 「I knew it when that young man was mumbling to himself. He's got madness in him!」
This villager's face was like this. (o口Д口o);;
Villager D: 「Right. There's the madness that harms others, and then there's the madness that only harms oneself. This friend belongs to the latter. Tsk, tsk.」
This villager was ( •̀⌓•́).
Villager C: 「Maybe he came here deliberately seeking a place to die…. His loved one must have left him. But lacking the courage to take his own life, unable to muster the courage, he came to this village looking for someone to kill him…. Ah, it must be…!」
Over there, someone was ヾ(.>﹏<.)ﾉﾞ.
A variety of expressions saw me off.
As I left the village, a sign reading [Danger! No Entry] blocked the path. I lightly jumped over it. Unlike the relatively well-maintained village touched by human hands, the path became drastically desolate with each step I took.
At the end of the path, the [Mad Warrior] who had driven the world's residents into fear was sitting quietly.
Madman: 「....」
The warrior was expressionless (=_=). It was hard to tell whether his eyes were open or closed. However, as soon as my right foot stepped on some weeds, making a rustling sound, a speech bubble appeared above the warrior's head.
Madman: 「It's been a while since I had a visitor.」
The land of this world was basically————. Although there were thickets and shrubs, the base was —.
However, for some reason, the area around where the warrior was sitting was drawn with 丄丄丄丄. At first, I thought they were somewhat large weeds, and then I thought they were reeds taller than the weeds.
Unfortunately, they were neither.
Madman: 「A challenger?」
They were all 'swords' stuck in the ground.
Madman: 「If you've strayed here by mistake, I will grant you the last mercy. Go back. But if you have come to challenge me, I will gladly entertain you.」
"...."
Madman: 「No. Perhaps I was foolish to utter such words. I paid attention to the sound of your footsteps as you approached. The regularity of your footsteps was astounding. The stride of tens of steps was frighteningly identical. It's impossible to think that someone with such a realm and experience would stupidly stray here.」
The warrior slowly stood up.
Madman: 「I ask you. Are you a hunter?」
I blinked.
"Are you a hunter too? Did you end up trapped in this stage forever while climbing the tower?"
Madman: 「No. I am not one of your kind. I am a pure and innocent native, born and raised in this world. But that too is a foolish statement. According to your beliefs, I was not born in this world but died in the other world, and thus I am merely living in the afterlife.」
Swoosh.
The warrior pulled out one of the countless swords stuck in the ground. It seemed that the hundreds of swords scattered around were all his.
Madman: 「However, I do have some connections with the humans you call 'hunters'.」
Throughout the motion of drawing his sword, the warrior maintained an expressionless (=_=) face. Perhaps it wasn't so much expressionless as it was indifferent. In a world crudely represented by mere sticks and strokes, it was difficult to seriously gauge his realm.
"Connections, you say?"
Madman: 「Sword Emperor.」
And then, the warrior said an unexpected name in his speech bubble.
Madman: 「I fought against the Sword Emperor and was defeated. I have been waiting for the day he would return.」
5.
From that point, the story the warrior revealed was simple.
Madman: 「According to the Sword Emperor, I am someone who was born and died in the same world as him. In other words, I was once a hunter as well.」
"...."
Madman: 「It's a story I can't remember, but here, in this world, the Sword Emperor certainly said so. Then it can't be a lie. At least, the Sword Emperor himself believed without a doubt that I was an 'old warrior who lived and died in the same world as him.' In other words, the Sword Emperor and I were acquaintances.」
"...Did the Sword Emperor tell you what name you had when you were alive?"
Madman: 「He did.」
The madman recited the alias he could not remember himself.
I turned to look at Bae Hu-ryeong.
"Is that correct?"
Idiot: 「Yeah. Right. And every time a speech bubble appears around that guy, it shows his name, and it's a name I recognize. Probably, what he's said is true.」
Bae Hu-ryeong confirmed the fact.
Madman: 「To think the world I am living in is actually the afterlife. It was surprising. But, objectively surprising things don't need to subjectively startle me. I fought a duel with the Sword Emperor and lost. However, the Sword Emperor said he had 'no interest in killing an already dead person from his hometown for a second time,' and so he did not take my life.」
"...."
Madman: 「It was indeed an insulting act. Even if it was my past life, it's a life I can't remember. Is he saying I should live, no, die forever in defeat? If so, I'd rather he accept a rematch later.」
Bae Hu-ryeong accepted the request for a rematch without much thought.
Promising to come back and fight after breaking through the 100th floor, someday.
Madman: 「Time has passed.」
And then he forgot.
It was inevitable. Events related to the pillars are meant to be forgotten. That's the law of the tower.
Unlike me, Bae Hu-ryeong did not secure immunity to memory loss. Unlike during my time, the [Wand Of Ages] was not kind enough to teach Bae Hu-ryeong everything.
The moment he reached the 80th floor, Bae Hu-ryeong's memories from the 70th to the 79th floor must have been completely distorted.
Madman: 「Well, I think the Sword Emperor is dead.」
"...."
Madman: 「No. Maybe he just can't find where I am. The world is quite vast. I've set up camp here and threaten anyone who comes by, in case he can't find me. Thanks to that, my infamy has spread. So much so that it's spread across the entire world. In other words. There's no way he couldn't find me.」
I sighed.
In the end, wasn't Bae Hu-ryeong's inability to keep a promise the cause of all these misdeeds?
"You, you're really causing trouble…"
Idiot: 「No, no. Wait. I might not know about other things, but this time it's unfair. I really don't remember, okay?」
"That's exactly the problem. The fact that you don't remember this time is the issue, really."
Idiot: 「Ergh....」
Just like on the 50th floor, there are so many issues left unresolved because this guy couldn't conquer the 100th floor.
Unintentionally, I found myself climbing the tower while cleaning up the messes left behind by Bae Hu-ryeong.
Madman: 「You seem to know quite a bit about the Sword Emperor.」
"Yes. Well. It's too complicated to explain in detail, but… you could roughly consider me a disciple of the Sword Emperor. And probably, the Sword Emperor will not return to duel with you."
Madman: 「Is that so.」
The warrior's indifferent expression (=_=) remained unchanged.
Madman: 「Then I suppose I must capture you instead.」
"Ah… So it comes to this, does it?"
Madman: 「Of course. If I back down now, it would mean I've wasted a long time for nothing. If the Sword Emperor is dead, that's all there is to it, and I've simply been worrying over nothing. However, if the disciple of the Sword Emperor has appeared, it's a different story. It might seem like unnecessary venting from your perspective, but I want to alleviate my disappointment by defeating you. No. It definitely is venting. I will take out my frustration on you.」
"Quite frank of you."
Madman: 「Is that so. I wouldn't know. I'm not familiar with the concept opposite of honesty.」
Well, fine.
Since I came here planning to deal with him anyway, it doesn't matter.
Hunting down a madman is one thing, but cleaning up after Bae Hu-ryeong's messes has its own significance.
Madman: 「Then, let us have a fair fight.」
Thud!
With a large font etched by stepping on the ground, the warrior charged at me. I also drew my holy sword. And as I watched the warrior swing his sword wide to find an opening—-.
'Huh?'
The moment I realized a critical problem was then.
'Huh? What?'
I extended my perception of time with aura. In the elongated timeline, the warrior was raising his sword high. Normally, I would have raised my sword to block. That was the standard.
The problem was.
'...Where is he swinging that sword to?'
Being accustomed to 3-dimensional fights, the warrior's action of swinging his sword in 2-dimensions was utterly unfamiliar to me!
'Upper right? Lower left? Or is it just straight ahead? So, should I also raise my sword straight ahead to block? Wait. Then how do I sidestep or deflect it to the side? Is sidestepping even possible? This is just a flat plane!'
I hurriedly tried changing my stance here and there. A stance to block the upper right. A stance to block the upper left.
However, the stick figures represented in [this world] were crude. I couldn't be sure of what stance I was taking, what stance I needed to take to completely block the opponent's attack, let alone what [path] the opponent's attack was coming from!
As a result, I could only make a dumbfounded expression!
(;;◉Д◉) !?!?
Madman: 「Prepare yourself.」
Even as I floundered, naturally, the warrior didn't care and continued his assault.
"Wait! Just, just a moment! Hold on! Something's wrong…"
Swoosh!
The hurried warrior swung his sword at me, leading me to a multiple-choice dilemma of whether to block the upper or lower section.