Chapter 290: Episode 290

“From this moment on, you are the Tower Master, Mr. Na.”

At those words, Na Daeyong froze. The electricity gathered in his right arm vanished as if it had never been there.

Na Daeyong’s expression was a storm of agitation, his pupils trembling as if an earthquake were shaking them from within. “I-Is that really true?”

“Yes.”

It was obvious his mental state was far from normal. He might even be on some kind of drug. What I needed was time, which meant I had to use whatever I could to my advantage. I could afford to play along with this childish make-believe.

“Your methods are extreme, and frankly, they anger me… but fine. Let’s move on to a more fundamental issue. From the very beginning, I intended to name you my successor.”

“…Master!”

An emotion surfaced on his face, impossible to hide—a raw, almost foolish-looking ecstasy.

“I’m tired now,” I said, slowly increasing the tempo of our conversation. “This five-year-long blank period… it seems it was longer than I thought. My senses have been worn down like a dull blade, and I have neither the strength nor the energy I once did. Being dragged onto a battlefield the moment I opened my eyes is utterly exhausting. So, if you say you’ll take my place, I welcome it. In fact, haven’t you done an excellent job as the Tower Master for the past five years?”

His lips quivered. “Are you… acknowledging me?”

“Of course. Who wouldn’t acknowledge the five-year career you’ve built as the Tower Master?”

He began repeating, “Oh my god,” his joy overflowing. He looked like he had reverted to a naive child. In that moment, I glanced over at Hong Yeon. She was still motionless on the ground, but her eyes remained fixed on Na Daeyong.

“I’ve dreamed of this moment my entire life! I’m so happy, Master!” Daeyong shouted, his voice filled with elation. “Even if you’re just saying that to save your own skin, I can’t help but tremble with joy!”

’…Damn it. He knew I was lying and still played along?’

“Well, you may have acknowledged me, Master… but my colleagues were different.” Daeyong’s voice suddenly sank. “Do you have any idea how they’ve treated me for the past five years? It was always Kim Yusin! Kim Yusin! Kim Yusin! They constantly compared me to you, belittling me!”

Veins bulged on his neck and his face turned crimson. He was oscillating between heaven and hell in a matter of seconds.

“If only Kim Yusin were alive! Kim Yusin wouldn’t have done it this way! Act like you’re Kim Yusin! Even after five years, the only person in anyone’s head was Kim Yusin!” He tore at his hair. “Why?! Why?! Why won’t they recognize my efforts? Why won’t they acknowledge me?!”

Lightning once again streaked across the clear sky.

“Fine! I’m not a Child of Mana, and I’m not the official Tower Master! But I worked myself to death to gain everyone’s approval! I was desperate! But all I got in return were cold stares and a deeper longing for you! Do you understand that suffocating despair, Master? Can you even begin to comprehend what it was like for me, suffering in your shadow?!”

Na Daeyong took a step forward. “You were my hero, my idol. My feelings for you back then were genuine. But!”

“You must disappear from this place, right now. A legend is enough as a legend.”

I let out a deep sigh. I knew his personality: extroverted, proud, and full of ambition. Such traits make one easy prey for an inferiority complex. His obsession had become inferiority, and that inferiority had twisted into madness. Had those negative emotions truly broken a man like him so completely?

“I’m sorry, Master.”

A torrent of electricity shot from Daeyong, hurtling toward me. I stood my ground, calmly waiting for the right moment.

And then.

“Now.”

A Warp Gate opened wide in front of me. The electric blast flew into it, only to pour out of another gate that had opened directly above Daeyong’s head.

“Ack!”

Struck by his own attack, he staggered back with a pained groan. “A warp…? But the coordinate-jamming magic…”

“That’s true,” a voice cut through the darkness. The sound of steady footsteps approached from the dense woods. “Long-distance warps are impossible, but a short-range one like this isn’t bound by coordinates, hunter Na Daeyong.”

“Samia…!” Na Daeyong ground his teeth.

Just then, two missiles tore through the air with a piercing shriek.

A violent explosion engulfed Daeyong’s body. A fighter jet that had been circling at a low altitude opened up, its limbs unfolding as it transformed into the shape of an Iron Golem and landed on the ground.

“I knew this would happen!” The golem’s chest plate slid open, and Eunsol shouted in frustration.

One by one, figures emerged from the dark forest. To the right were Jeong Seojin and Jin Bora. To the left, Kim Sarang and Jo Yonghee. Even Cha Doyeon, the current Minister of Magic, appeared and stood beside me.

A massive creature descended from the sky. Covered in golden scales with magnificent horns, it circled once before slowing down to land behind me. It was Seo Shimhee, transformed into Andras. Her crimson eyes stared at me before she lowered her massive head. I calmly stroked the bridge of her nose, and a pleased rumble emanated from her throat.

“I’m glad we weren’t too late, Tower Master,” Jeong Seojin said, pulling on his gloves.

“Sunbae! Are you okay?” Jin Bora waved her hands frantically.

I gave a small wave back before turning my attention forward. Na Daeyong was staggering out from the smoke of the explosion.

“…Heh heh, so you’re all turning on me now, is that it?” Daeyong’s bloodshot eyes scanned his surroundings. “You must be so happy, huh? The great Kim Yusin you all worshipped and slobbered over is finally back! Now that the Master has returned, you can just ditch a stand-in like me, right? Hahaha! HAHAHAHA!”

The dragon beside me growled, and I soothed her by stroking her snout again.

“Mr. Na Daeyong.” Jeong Seojin stepped forward. “I believe there’s been a misunderstanding. We never ignored or discriminated against you. In fact, after the Tower Master lost consciousness, we were grateful for your efforts to manage the situation.”

“Don’t give me that hypocritical crap! You trash!” Daeyong’s face was beet red as he jabbed a finger at them. “I know better than anyone what you all thought of me! Especially those eyes!” His finger shifted to point at Seojin. “I know how you all looked at me! Do you think I’m an idiot?”

“…Mr. Na Daeyong.”

“You pretended to treat me like the Tower Master, but the moment I opened my mouth, you’d sigh and scowl! Then, a few moments later, you’d start talking about Kim Yusin! You all made me like this…!”

“Hey,” Jin Bora stepped forward this time. “You know, a victim complex that severe is pathological, right?”

“Hehehe! A victim complex? Is that how you’re going to frame this, Sunbae?” Jin Bora’s eyebrow twitched. “Why don’t you talk about what you did to us? Since we’re on the topic, let me make one thing perfectly clear. You are not Kim Yusin.”

“You were obsessed with the fantasy of being his successor. It wasn’t so bad at first, was it? We all worked hard to rebuild the Magic Tower after it lost its leader. But then, at some point,” she said, staring directly into Daeyong’s eyes, “you started to see yourself as one and the same as him, didn’t you?”

“You started forcing us to give you everything he had received. The titles, the work process, the clothes, even the personal relationships. You thought of yourself as him, so you demanded that we treat you as him. That demand…” She clenched her jaw. “It was disgusting. You get that?”

Cha Doyeon chimed in. “And if you’re crying about us not treating you like the Tower Master just because we refused your unreasonable demands, I can’t think of anything more foolish.”

I had heard the story from Eunsol. The stress of acting as Tower Master must have gotten to Daeyong. His colleagues, forced to operate with a gaping hole in their leadership, had probably made comparisons between the past and the present. I could understand their complaints; they were only human, and it had been a difficult time.

But Daeyong’s reaction had been abnormally extreme. According to Eunsol, he nitpicked every little word and action.

—”Why don’t you call me Tower Master? Why don’t you treat me like Kim Yusin? Kim Yusin handled it this way, so why are you doing it differently for me?”

Just as everyone was growing weary of his behavior, a major problem erupted. Samia, her contract with Garam finished, announced she was returning to Tanzania. She was severely homesick at the time, exhausted by my death and Daeyong’s tyranny. Seeing no reason to remain in Korea, she planned to return home and rest.

However, Daeyong reacted with extreme sensitivity and fury. He declared that for her, who had received the power of a Floor Manager, to leave the Magic Tower was an act of betrayal. Samia explained that she would continue her duties as an administrator by traveling between Tanzania and the Magic Tower using her Warp Gate, but Daeyong wouldn’t have it.

—”Are you doing this because I’m not Kim Yusin?”

At that moment, Samia became utterly fed up with him. Despite his threat to consider her departure a betrayal, she left. And at the very end, her own pent-up emotions exploded.

—”The one I swore loyalty to was hunter Kim Yusin, not you.”

That single sentence became the trigger, lodging itself deep in Daeyong’s heart. From that point on, things truly began to unravel. After Samia’s departure, Daeyong became pathologically controlling of the other administrators and his colleagues. He particularly caused problems with the Fourth Floor Team, with whom he used to be casual friends. He suddenly began demanding the utmost respect and formality befitting a Tower Master. The Fourth Floor Team was baffled and uncomfortable with his abrupt change in attitude, but Daeyong was strict.

—”What is that tone? Is this defiance against the Tower Master?”

—”If I were Kim Yusin, would you dare speak to me like that?”

He went as far as to discipline them over minor issues of etiquette and even forced Cha Doyeon to kneel in front of her juniors. That was the last straw for Doyeon, and she left the Magic Tower. The other 4th-floor members left one by one, and Daeyong’s inner turmoil deepened. Already rotten to the core, he began to blame others for his problems.

—”It’s all because I’m not Kim Yusin, isn’t it?”

Every time Daeyong forced his will on them, his colleagues only yearned for me more—a vicious cycle.

“I also know about the dirty things you were plotting behind the scenes,” Eunsol, who had been listening quietly, finally spoke up. “You targeted my Oppa and the Child of Mana, and you killed innocent people without a second thought. Forget being the Tower Master, you’ve crossed the line as a human being! Do you get it?”

Mana surged from Daeyong’s body. The Seoul sky began to fill with dark clouds.

“…Disgusting, detestable hypocrites. It’s easy for a group to gang up on one person and make them the fool, isn’t it?”

Further conversation seemed pointless. A 5th Circle lightning spell descended.

“You’re the real demons.”

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