Chapter 313: Episode 313

“…Hmm.”

The Führer paused, noticing Hong Yeon. He made a show of thoughtfully stroking his reptilian chin.

“That atrocious red hair. Ah, yes. You must be that woman’s younger sister.”

Looking up at the colossal beast, Hong Yeon curled her lip in disgust.

“A filthy Fiend shouldn’t speak of her so casually.”

The Führer merely smirked.

“I owe your older sister quite a debt. Just seeing that crimson hair makes my old wounds throb.”

“Is that so?” Hong Yeon whispered.

A crimson sword aura whipped furiously around the tip of her blade, surging with bloodthirsty momentum.

“Then I’ll gladly make sure you never ache again.”

“Anderson, stop this woman.”

The Führer commanded, but no response echoed back.

“Anderson!”

“Looking for this guy?” a new voice chimed in.

The Führer turned his massive head.

A few yards away, the body of a lizard-like Fiend had already been frozen stiff, completely immobilized like an ice sculpture.

Im Namjin stood nonchalantly beside it. He gave the frozen monster a light tap with his index finger, and the statue instantly shattered into thousands of icy pieces.

“Rank-2, Heo Il, joining the fray.”

“Rank-3, Ahn Sehyeon, moving in!”

South Korea’s elite hunters were arriving onto the battlefield, pouring through the gates one after another.

The Führer clicked his tongue in clear annoyance and turned his back on us.

“It seems this is no longer a good time for a leisurely chat.”

“Stop right there!”

Hong Yeon dashed forward like a red comet, mercilessly cutting down any Fiends foolish enough to block her path. The rest of the hunters surged forward in her wake.

“It’s a pity, but I must retrieve what needs retrieving.”

Leaving his subordinates behind to buy him time, the Führer reached out his massive claw toward Shimhee.

Is he really planning to snatch Shimhee and run?

I gritted my teeth in frustration.

“Ea, you maintain the barrier from here!”

-Understood.

Just as I activated the Wing Golem artifact and shot forward at maximum speed, I gaped in absolute horror at the sight that unfolded next.

The Führer’s razor-sharp claws plunged straight through Shimhee’s chest.

“No!”

Doyeon’s heart-wrenching scream tore through the battlefield.

What the hell is he doing?!

Shimhee’s life energy began visibly siphoning up through the Führer’s claws. Her massive body rapidly shriveled and decayed, soon collapsing into a bone-dry husk.

“A rather exceptional taste.”

The Führer smoothly retracted his blood-soaked arm and chuckled darkly.

Doyeon wailed in grief, frantically bombarding him with blinding light-attribute magic, but her desperate attacks couldn’t leave so much as a scratch on his impenetrable scales.

“Do not grieve over such trivial partings, child. Soon, every miserable life clinging to this world will hang by a thread.”

Ruuuumble!

The colossal black dragon stepped backward, phasing effortlessly into another dimension.

At the very last moment, the dragon’s vermillion eyes shifted, locking onto me.

“See you in six months, Kim Yusin. And…”

As his monstrous pupils shifted to rest on Hong Yeon, a distinctly wicked, unconcealable smile formed on the Führer’s scaly lips.

“I look forward to what’s to come, Guardian.”

*

It was a quiet evening, carried by a chilly night breeze.

The storm had finally passed, leaving nothing behind but dark bloodstains and the shattered ruins of the collapsed cafeteria.

I found a decent spot amidst the rubble, sitting down to watch the emergency crews begin clearing the debris.

“Aren’t you going to have to pay for all of that?”

Hong Yeon asked as she approached my makeshift seat. She offered me a paper coffee cup sporting a popular franchise logo, a slight, teasing smile playing on her lips.

“I assume mine is a ginger latte?” I asked, reaching for it.

“It’s just a hot cappuccino.”

“Zero tact, as usual.”

When she playfully pulled her arm back, putting on a sulky expression, I quickly apologized and took the coffee from her hands.

We sat together in silence for a moment, side by side.

“Well, regarding the damages…” I continued, gesturing vaguely toward the ruined cafeteria building. “I can handle the bill. Though, admittedly, it would’ve been a bit annoying if the Seoul Tower had collapsed.”

“The destruction of the Seoul Tower would only be ‘a bit annoying’ to you…?” She shook her head in disbelief.

“I’m sorry things escalated like this,” I said softly. “Especially since it dragged all of you busy folks out here for nothing.”

“You don’t need to apologize to me. The Führer’s intervention was a completely unpredictable variable. Besides, if a Fiend of that caliber crossed over onto Korean soil, it would’ve been the Hunter Association’s duty to step in regardless.”

I stretched my legs out, tipping my head back to gaze up at the starry night sky.

Looking purely at the tactical results, we hadn’t suffered any major losses.

The Führer’s abrupt interference had definitely complicated the situation, but we had still managed to eliminate multiple Fiends, including a subordinate the Führer heavily relied on. Plus, Shimhee was tragically already destined to lose her life here today anyway.

And yet… why did I feel so unbearably hollow?

“What kind of person was Shimhee?” Hong Yeon asked quietly.

At her question, I slowly closed my eyes, letting out a heavy breath.

“Apparently, she had feelings for me.”

“…Ah.”

“Honestly, I had absolutely no idea. While I was in a coma, she stole a relic called Anton’s Necklace to conjure physical illusions of me. It seems she spent her entire life hiding inside those manufactured delusions.”

“That’s the perfect breeding ground for someone to turn into a Fiend,” she noted grimly.

It wasn’t something I could have reasonably prevented.

Even so, the bitter guilt settling into the corner of my heart refused to completely fade away.

Sensing the heavy, suffocating atmosphere, Hong Yeon forced a warm smile and deliberately changed the subject.

“The Führer said he’ll see you in six months. Just as we expected, it looks like the Fiends are planning to launch an all-out offensive during the Nemesis.”

“Most likely,” I agreed.

“Could I borrow a warp gate soon? I want to head to the Middle East and clear out their remaining regional forces. If we leave them unchecked, they’ll inevitably return as an even bigger threat.”

“I’ll talk to Samia and have her assign a few of our best dimensional mages to your squad.”

“Thank you.”

I let out a long, exhausted sigh.

“Also…” I ventured carefully. “I know you don’t really like talking about this.”

Hong Yeon looked at me questioningly, waiting for me to continue.

“Have you received any more information regarding your older sister?”

Hong Yeon lowered her gaze and slowly shook her head.

Hong Yul was the former Hunter Association President, a legend who had suddenly vanished without a single trace after her abrupt retirement.

Wild rumors about her whereabouts ran rampant, but to this day, no one had actually seen her. The government had even dispatched dedicated search parties, but every single one of them returned empty-handed.

It was as if she had simply evaporated from the face of the earth; she hadn’t left behind a single notable trace.

“…And setting my sister’s physical condition aside,” Hong Yeon murmured, “I really don’t want her returning to the front lines.”

She looked up at me, her face a canvas of deeply complicated emotions.

“Even now, all I want is for her to finally find her own happiness.”

I nodded silently in understanding.

I knew exactly what kind of immense contributions Hong Yul had made for the sake of humanity over the years. And I also knew she had fought her hardest battles while enduring agonizing, severe injuries.

It would be incredibly reassuring if Hong Yul came out of hiding to help us during the Nemesis, but I knew that was just my own selfish wish.

“Then, what are you going to do with your remaining time, Yusin?” she asked, her tone lightening up again.

“I’ll have to keep pushing forward with all our ongoing projects,” I replied. “And…”

The Führer’s arrogantly sly smirk flashed through my mind, refusing to leave me in peace. I pushed myself up from my seat.

“I think it’s finally time for me to do my last level-up.”

*

[The magic of the trial is encroaching upon the space.]

[You must pass the trial to ascend to the next floor.]

Having returned to the Magic Tower, I climbed all the way up to the top of the seventh floor. At the intersection leading up to the eighth floor, the dense magic of the trial lay spread out before me, swirling ominously like a miniature black hole.

Since the ‘Magic Tower Master’s Room’ on the ninth floor—the absolute top of the tower—had been open to me from the very beginning, this was essentially the tower’s true final trial.

I’ve finally made it this far.

Regarding the eighth-floor trial, the final entry in Anton’s diary was written exactly as follows:

I curse my fate.

Just those five words, and that was it.

What exactly the eighth-floor trial tested, or what kind of horrifying boss monster might appear—not a single additional line was written about it.

With that ominous sentence serving as the grand finale, Anton’s diary had permanently come to an end.

This is making me needlessly anxious.

I stared into the swirling magic of the trial. The horrifying darkness felt alive, flicking its tongue as if ready to swallow me whole at any moment.

Taking a long, deep breath, I stepped forward.

“Let’s go, Ea.”

-Yes, Tower Master.

[You must pass the trial to ascend to the next floor.]

[Do you wish to challenge the trial?]

“I accept.”

A sudden weightlessness seized me. My feet lifted off the ground, and my body was violently sucked into the trial’s void.

I had been through hell and back by now. No matter who or what appeared, I was confident nothing could catch me off guard.

A moment later, my boots hit solid ground. I slowly opened my eyes to a sprawling ruin. Crumbled Erendel-style buildings littered the landscape, their shattered debris floating in the sky like gravity had simply ceased to exist.

As I scanned the desolation, a voice broke the silence.

“Welcome.”

Jesus, that startled me.

I whipped around to find a familiar, warmly smiling face.

“Anton!”

Seeing my reaction, he crossed his arms, looking amused. “So, you know who I am?”

As expected. It’s an illusion.

During the fourth-floor trial, the real Anton had planted a clone of himself to guide challengers. This had to be the exact same setup.

“Of course I do. Thanks to your help, sir, I was able to clear the previous trials.”

“I’m glad to hear that.”

“Will I be carrying out another one of your tasks this time around?”

Anton shook his head. “I didn’t design the eighth-floor trial. The first Tower Master did. However, I figured my successors might be a bit confused if they dove in blindly, so I decided to stick around and offer some commentary.”

“Ah… I appreciate the heads-up.”

“Now, where should I begin?” Anton rubbed his chin thoughtfully. “Let me ask you a question. What exactly do you think ’mana’ is?”

It was the exact same question the real Anton had asked me back in Erendel during the sixth-floor trial. Recalling that conversation, I didn’t hesitate.

“It’s the precursor to a calamity.”

The corners of Anton’s mouth curled in satisfaction. “You understand it perfectly!”

Mana was a power that originally did not exist in the world. However, once a planet reached a certain age, mana began to generate in its atmosphere. Then, an unidentified phenomenon known as ’Will’ used that mana to construct a systemic purge—a ’calamity’ designed to destroy the world.

To borrow Anton’s analogy: mana was the catalyst that spawned the calamity ’virus.’ To fight it, ’white blood cells’ known as players were created. The Magic Tower, then, was a ’vaccine’ injected from the outside.

“Until now, we’ve mostly focused on the Magic Tower. Shall we discuss the players for a moment?”

What is he getting at? Why beat around the bush?

“Just as there is a Will that creates calamity, there is an opposing Will. Do you know what that is?”

“I’m not quite sure.”

“It is the planet itself. The world’s Will to survive the calamity. A planet doesn’t just sit back and accept its destruction. It puts forth a desperate, concentrated effort to survive.”

I scratched my head. “Is that so? I can’t say I’ve ever felt the earth cheering me on.”

-Tower Master.

Ea’s voice suddenly echoed in my mind.

-Someone is approaching.

I snapped my head toward the sound of approaching footsteps. Anton must have sensed the presence too. His gaze was fixed on the exact same spot in the darkness.

“They’re here,” Anton murmured.

“Who’s here?”

“The eighth-floor trial skips all the intermediate steps. It is simply a single boss battle.”

A boss battle right out of the gate? A sudden wave of tension hit me.

“What kind of boss are we talking about?”

“I don’t know.”

I stared at him, dumbfounded.

“The boss changes depending on the planet,” Anton clarified. “But one thing is certain. The Tower is about to show you the exact entity destined to destroy this world.”

A profound chill ran down my spine. “That makes no sense!” I shouted. “Are you telling me I have to face the Rank 11 Nemesis by myself?!”

“It is not the Nemesis.”

The figure was still far off, but my Deva’s Eye pierced the gloom. They weren’t a towering monstrosity. It was the distinct, unmistakable silhouette of a human walking toward us through the abyss.

A second later, the details snapped into focus.

“Ah…”

My mind went completely blank. A woman in a sleek, form-fitting hunter suit stepped forward, her brilliant red hair fluttering in an unseen breeze.

“Hong… Yeon?”

Her face was a mask of cold apathy, devoid of a single ounce of emotion. She approached with her sword raised. For a desperate second, I tried to convince myself it was a doppelganger, a trick of the light—but no matter how hard I looked, it was Hong Yeon.

“…Anton.” I swallowed hard, desperately fighting the thick knot of emotion swelling in my throat. “Are you telling me… Hong Yeon is going to destroy the world?”

“That is correct,” Anton replied, his tone chillingly matter-of-fact. “The Tower does not lie.”

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