Chapter 315: Episode 315

8th-Floor Trial.

<Kim Yusin Original – Deformation Meister>

My attire shifted into a sleek blue suit as I stared into the gloom.

Hong Yeon was walking toward me out of the abyss. The brilliant white aura flowing around her body confirmed it—this was the fully ’awakened’ state of the Guardian Anton had warned me about.

This awakening wasn’t some flamboyant transformation. It was a state of absolute, terrifying hyper-focus, achieved by synchronizing mind and body for the singular purpose of executing the Nemesis.

The woman stepping up to kill me right now was operating under the agonizing resolve of a solitary savior who had laid the fate of all humanity squarely on her own shoulders.

I exhaled a shaky breath.

My own mind, on the other hand, was an absolute wreck.

My innate over-immersion ability—which had recently evolved into the ’Unification’ trait—was violently amplifying the emotional bleed, tearing my focus to shreds.

No matter how I tried to rationalize it as an illusion, this was a simulation forcing me to practice butchering the woman I cared about to save the world.

“Nemesis,” she repeated, leveling her sword with a cold, unyielding glare. “If I kill you, everything ends.”

To see her looking at me with that chilling, murderous resolve… it physically hurt.

Get a grip, Yusin.

I ruthlessly clamped down on my emotions and commanded my magical feathers forward. Caught in an ethereal updraft, they scattered into the air, rapidly unfurling into dozens of overlapping, hexagonal shields.

To anchor the formation, I deployed the seventh-order Ancient Barrier—the absolute pinnacle of my defensive arsenal. It was a flawless, impregnable fortress.

Closing the distance recklessly against her is suicide.

I stepped down hard onto a fallen feather, channeling the earth.

<Gaia>

The stone ground to her immediate left and right surged upward, crashing toward her like tidal waves. Without breaking her stride, Hong Yeon flared her Scarlet Flare, spinning the dense crimson energy into a localized typhoon that effortlessly pulverized the collapsing stone into dust.

<Super Shell> ×4

The scattered feathers surrounding her trajectory violently expanded, transforming into four massive, localized thunderclouds that blasted her with chaotic webs of lightning.

She didn’t even flinch. She maintained her forward march, her sword raised in the exact same pristine stance.

Simply by dialing up the raw output of her Scarlet Flare, the crimson cyclone enveloping her body expanded tenfold. The raging thunderclouds of my Super Shell were casually swallowed whole, smothered by pure martial force.

Damn… this is a nightmare.

The early symptoms of mana depletion were already throbbing behind my eyes.

It wasn’t just my output. Every ambient particle of mana in this artificial world was actively curving toward her, magnetically drawn into her core. It was as if the universe itself was aggressively hoarding energy to sustain her existence. Her mere presence forcibly starved the environment, making her the absolute natural enemy of any mage.

Drawing external mana for recovery was mathematically impossible here. In fact, just maintaining the structural integrity of my existing magic circles against her gravitational pull was taking everything I had.

I won’t be able to use sixth-order.

The moment I tried to map a magic circle directly onto her body, the mana would immediately mutiny and be digested by her aura.

Facing her on the opposite side of the battlefield, a humbling realization hit me. I finally understood just how drastically she had been restricting herself—how incredibly mindful and considerate she had been of my spells whenever we fought side by side.

The more my mind lingered on our shared history, the more my focus deteriorated. Fighting at even fifty percent of my usual capacity felt like dragging chains.

Ea, is Armageddon possible?

-Yes, Tower Master. I will increase the processing ratio of my formulas immediately.

In my current emotional state, I was practically dead weight to Ea. I had to forcefully snap out of this funk, or I was going to die again.

First, I’ll bait her attention.

<Fire Cannon> ×200

Two hundred blazing artillery strikes materialized in the sky above her. Hong Yeon didn’t even bother lifting her blade. She nonchalantly swiped her empty left hand upward.

Five invisible, devastating fissures carved through the air, prematurely detonating the entire barrage of Fire Cannons into a harmless canopy of sparks.

But the real attack is coming from below!

<Crevasse>

The solid earth beneath her boots violently tore open in two directions. Stripped of her foothold, Hong Yeon immediately plummeted into the newly formed trench.

I didn’t waste a millisecond. Tracking her freefall into the narrow chasm, I commanded my feathers to dive after her, rapidly weaving a consecutive stack of twenty amplification magic circles deep into the pit.

Now, if I just pour Armageddon straight down this barrel—!

-Tower Master! A sword strike is coming from below!

What?

Making an absolute mockery of my Crevasse spell, a blinding column of Scarlet Flare—the sheer, apocalyptic crystallization of physical force—tore clean through the bedrock and rocketed straight upward at my throat.

I scrambled backward, but it was too late. A crimson arc of a sword strike sheared clean through my right arm.

“Gah!”

A shockwave of agony washed over me, so intense my vision tunneled.

My concentration shattered. The pistols I had prepared for the Armageddon spell dissolved into nothingness. Cloaked in her crimson aura, Hong Yeon erupted from the ground and charged straight at me.

I hoisted Spectre with my one remaining arm.

The tip of Hong Yeon’s blade collided with my sword. The sheer force of the impact sent me hurtling through the air for miles.

I need to cast Armageddon again…!

That was my final coherent thought.

In that fleeting fraction of a second where my focus faltered, a crimson line closed the distance. It was devoid of any elaborate technique, driving forward in a pure, inescapable trajectory that pierced straight through my chest.

My heart was obliterated in an instant.

Spine-chilling, monstrous accuracy.

I crashed into the dirt, choking on my own blood.

Tick! Tock!

Time began to rewind once more.

The gaping hole in my chest knit itself back together as Hong Yeon’s movements reversed, her body retreating into the earth. The massive crevasse sealed shut, and Hong Yeon rose back up, assuming her sword stance.

Then, she backed away, and I was plunged into suffocating darkness once again.

Ugh, damn it.

Sure, rewinding time was infinitely better than staying dead. But did I really have to endure the agonizing sensation of my heart being destroyed before the clock turned back?

“You are not yet ready.”

Accompanied by Anton’s familiar voice, I was unceremoniously spat out onto the top of the seventh floor.

“Haaa.”

The moment I materialized, I collapsed on my back, spread-eagle against the cold floor. Staring blankly at the ceiling, a chaotic storm of delusional thoughts swarmed my mind.

“Argh! This is seriously driving me insane!”

“Tower Master! Are you alright?”

With a soft flash of light, Ea materialized in the air above me.

“I’m so exhausted, Ea,” I muttered.

“Please, rest for a moment.”

Ea knelt beside me, her slender fingers gently massaging my temples. She was treating me like a fragile child, but her touch was incredibly soft and warm. It grounded me.

“I am right here by your side. Please, do not try to bear everything alone, Tower Master. Let me carry this burden with you.”

“…Thank you.”

I lay there for a long while, simply basking in her warmth. I was so utterly drained that I just wanted to be selfish and lean on her like this.

Ea stayed by my side in comforting silence.

“Ea.”

“Yes, Tower Master.”

“Out of all the ideas currently floating in my head… which one is the best?”

She closed her eyes thoughtfully. “Must I choose the best among those specific options?”

“What do you mean?”

“No matter which of those paths you choose, Tower Master, it will end in your unhappiness. I am your homunculus. I cannot recommend a choice that guarantees my master’s misery.”

I fell silent.

“Empty your mind and find peace. You simply haven’t discovered the right answer yet. I firmly believe there must be a better way forward.”

Her soft, melodic voice—like a mother soothing a crying child—eased the tension from my muscles, leaving me pleasantly languid.

This really was the endgame.

I had dragged myself through hell and back, and now, only Nemesis, the final disaster, stood in my way.

Just what kind of ending would I carve out for myself?

Pondering the inevitable, I let my heavy eyelids fall shut.

*

“Oh, come on, Boss, wake up!”

A hand vigorously shaking my shoulder jolted me awake. Without even opening my eyes, I groaned.

“Mmm, just five more minutes…”

“There you go again, Tower Master.”

Bora’s hands retreated, followed by a brief rustling sound nearby.

Just as I—possessing absolutely zero desire to face the waking world—was about to drift back to sleep, a pungent, grassy smell invaded my nose.

Green juice.

“Say ahh—open wide!”

I instinctively parted my lips, and the snipped corner of a juice pouch was unceremoniously shoved into my mouth. The opening was small enough to keep the foul-smelling liquid from spilling everywhere, forcing me to suck it down.

“Good boy. Drink up, my little baby.”

What the hell is this crazy woman babbling about now?

Regardless, the sharp, intensely refreshing bite of the green juice miraculously banished my drowsiness. I finally cracked my eyes open and sat up.

“Judging by the fact that you’re shoving vegetables down my throat to wake me up, something big must have happened.”

“Bingo! The World Coalition is making a major announcement. Everyone is gathered in the Golden Lobby waiting for it!”

“A major announcement?”

Basically, it was her polite way of telling me to shut up and get downstairs.

I quickly splashed cold water on my face, threw on a jacket, and followed Bora down to the first floor.

“Tower Master!”

“You’re here!”

Since it was so late, most of the standard staff had already clocked out. The managers, senior mages, and the night-shift crew had gathered to eat dinner.

Of course, ’dinner’ wasn’t anything fancy. It was just a mountain of delivery boxes—fried chicken and pizza—laid out like a casual frat party.

“Here, here, the boss gets the seat of honor!”

I took the center spot on the plush sofas in the Golden Lobby. The second I sat down, Eunsol scurried over and shamelessly claimed my lap, while Jeong Seojin materialized like a shadow behind me, instantly rattling off a rapid-fire progress report on our current projects.

Having literally just woken up, I couldn’t process a damn word Seojin was saying. I just nodded along, pretending to comprehend her.

“Yusin! Good job with your trial!” Eunsol cheered.

“Thanks, Sol. But you’re a little too close…”

“Want some pizza, Yusin?”

Eunsol used her telekinesis to levitate a slice of pepperoni pizza. As it floated through the air, parmesan cheese and hot sauce rained over it in a perfect, invisible assembly line, while the slightly burnt crust edges were meticulously torn away and tossed into the nearby trash can.

Finally grabbing the perfectly prepped slice out of the air, Eunsol beamed brightly.

“Here! Say ahh—”

I opened my mouth and took a bite. Eunsol immediately let out a delighted squeal.

“Eee, I love it! Just watching you eat makes me feel full!”

That was the exact line I used to say to her all the time back in the day.

“Oh, hello, Mr. Yusin!”

This time, Ha Yerin approached and greeted me shyly. Eunsol immediately shot her a fierce glare.

“Yerin! It’s been a while. How are you adjusting to life at the Magic Tower?” I asked.

“I love it! Everyone’s been so incredibly helpful! The senior mages are even tutoring me in magic themselves…!”

Kim Sarang, Jo Yonghee, and Cha Doyeon had been taking turns mentoring Yerin. Doyeon was from the hunter’s Association, so she technically had no obligation to help, but she kept insisting she wanted to pitch in.

Regardless, it seemed Yerin was adapting beautifully. She was prone to rookie mistakes, but she possessed a bright personality and her own fierce brand of grit. I knew she’d find her footing in no time.

“Wow, look at the managers hogging the Tower Master the second he comes downstairs.”

“Pay some attention to the rest of us!”

A few mages, riding a pleasant buzz from the beer, jokingly called out from across the room.

The Magic Tower was fundamentally a young organization, so the hierarchy was rarely strict—except for Seojin’s second floor, of course. Now that it was past working hours, the atmosphere was wonderfully relaxed.

“How dare you! If you’re jealous, put in a few more years of service and earn your spot!”

The only one acting like a strict, crotchety boomer was Eunsol, who was currently growling at them from atop my lap.

The managers all got along seamlessly with the staff. This cozy, close-knit dynamic was exactly what I had envisioned when I founded the Tower.

It was just a damn shame that there wasn’t much time left to enjoy these peaceful moments with everyone.

“Ah! It’s starting!”

At Bora’s shout, everyone snapped their attention to the large flat-screen TV.

World Coalition Secretary General Phil was striding up to the podium in a crowded press conference room. Camera flashes erupted in a blinding, staccato frenzy.

“I am Coalition Secretary General Phil,” he announced over the broadcast. “Thank you all for gathering here today.”

Hmm, I feel a little anxious.

What kind of major announcement was he suddenly making?

Phil swiftly wrapped up his formalities and cut straight to the chase.

“Our World Coalition places full trust in the prophecy delivered by the clairvoyant known as Oracle. We are making every possible preparation to intercept the Rank 11 disaster, Nemesis, which is slated to occur in six months.”

The fact that the Alliance was officially validating Oracle—whose existence had previously been hidden from the public and shrouded in rampant internet rumors—carried massive geopolitical weight.

The same went for the public mention of Nemesis. The modern populace had developed a severe numbness to danger after enduring countless apocalyptic events, but the Alliance was drawing a hard line, firmly re-emphasizing the gravity of this specific threat.

“Therefore, the Alliance intends to form a united Nemesis Strike Squad. Composed of the absolute top hunters from nations across the globe, this army of humanity will march out to destroy Nemesis directly.”

Reporters violently thrust their hands into the air, immediately unleashing a chaotic barrage of questions.

“You’re saying you intend to draft hunters once again! The political pushback is bound to be fierce. How do you intend to guarantee the national defense of the countries these hunters are drafted from?”

“Of course, the defense of individual nations remains a priority,” Phil replied smoothly. “However, if we do not destroy Nemesis, this disaster will persist for eternity, threatening us all. The Coalition has determined that neutralizing Nemesis at its source is the absolute fastest way to minimize the global damage.”

It seemed Phil had walked out onto that stage with his mind fully made up. He had even adopted my aggressive suggestion of forming a Strike Squad.

After batting away a few more hostile questions, he raised a hand to quiet the room and spoke again.

“Now, I will announce the Supreme Commander who has been chosen to lead the Nemesis Strike Squad.”

A fresh maelstrom of camera flashes erupted, blindingly intense.

Phil opened a sleek leather folder and read from the paper inside.

“The Supreme Commander of the Nemesis Strike Squad is South Korea’s Official Rank 1 hunter, Kim Yusin!”

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep