Chapter 290: Abandoned Disciples (1)
1.
Kwaang!
As the explosion was heard, the patrons of the tavern were fl.u.s.tered.
"What, what is it? What"s happening?"
"d.a.m.n it. It"s starting again…!"
The customers neither evacuated nor hid under the tables. They simply grabbed the gla.s.ses and snacks on the table with both hands, worried they might spill. Here, on the 50th floor, an explosion was just a part of everyday life.
「Ah, ah. Mic test. Mic test.」
Amidst the chaos in the tavern, a voice echoed from the sky.
Along with the others, I looked towards the source of the voice.
「We would like to apologize for all the noise from the Magic Tower.」
Magic Tower.
That place, along with this open-air tavern, was a familiar sight on the 50th floor.
When I had tried to catch the Constellation Killer before, the witches of the Magic Tower had partic.i.p.ated. Their headquarters, the Magic Tower, consisted of five spires, towering into the sky.
Like the fingers of a giant of the earth reaching for the sky.
"The force that has ruled this 50th floor for over a thousand years… Was that it?"
I glanced at Bae Hu-ryeong.
"Isn"t this place a bit of a nemesis for you?"
-No, no. I don"t have any particular feelings towards them.
Bae Hu-ryeong claimed nonchalantly.
-It"s just that they unilaterally hate me. Really. In fact, I"m rather aggrieved.
"...But didn"t you say you demolished one of the original six towers? How is that an aggrieved person"s action?"
-Now, look. Those kids are gloomy, right? Always cooped up in the tower, doing research, the place almost reeks of mold. I punched a hole in the tower to suggest they get some air once in a while. Thinking about it, I should be thanked. I even remodeled it for free. The richest guys on the 50th floor have no decency, tsk tsk.
"It seems more like you just lack morals…"
The voice from the Magic Tower continued to echo grandly across the city. People drinking in the open air, merchants at their stalls, vagrants playing dice in broad daylight, everyone paused their daily lives and looked up blankly at the five towers.
「I am the spokesperson of the Magic Tower. Well, it"s not much of a story. Today, some terrorists who don"t know their place tried to mess with us, so I have to make this announcement.」
「The explosion that just rang in your ears was the work of those terrorists… Hey, hey. Drag them here. No, not there. Ss.h.!.+ Right. There. Yes.」
At that moment, voices other than the spokesperson"s sharply cut through.
「The Magic Tower is imprisoning our comrades!」
「We are the disciples of Hamustra!」
I hesitated for a moment.
Disciples of Hamustra?
「We are all officially recognized librarians! The Magic Tower is illegally oppressing and imprisoning us!」
「Everyone! If we don"t all rise up together now, someday you too will end up like us…」
「Ah. Ah. Okay, that"s enough. Phew.」
The sigh of the spokesperson was heard.
「Anyway, these masterless folks only have loud voices. Alright, has everyone grasped the situation? This disturbance was entirely caused by losers abandoned by their constellations. Please be aware of that…」
「Shut up! We have not been abandoned by Lord Hamustra!」
「Do you know the difference between the strong and the weak? The strong only need to be quiet when they want to be, but the weak have to be quiet even when they don"t want to.」
Kwajik!
A strange bursting sound erupted from beyond the sky.
「Uh! Ugh…!?」
「Yes, as you can see, these guys are weak. It would be fortunate if they were only weak, but they even tried to break our Magic Tower"s security system because they are also foolish. As a result… well, I have one of their teeth in my hand now. You get the picture, right?」
「I advise everyone not to mess with the Magic Tower.」
The surroundings buzzed with activity.
「Oh? Are you challenging me? Listen, when I say shut up, it doesn"t just mean your mouth. It means your eyes too.」
Kwajik, tssss, kiiiii….
An ominous sound continued to rise into the murky sky. With each twist of the sound, gasps and groans were intertwined with someone"s screams. The moans broke into seven parts and scattered across the sky above the 50th floor.
"...."
"...."
Silence descended upon the open-air tavern.
The hunters, each wary of the other, tried to ignore the screams coming from the sky. They all recognized it as a kind of public execution. Only the tavern owner grumbled, "Tch, it"s ruining business," as he wiped the bar.
「Ah. Ah. Mic test once more.」
「I ask everyone, if you happen to walk by and see former disciples of Hamustra, please report it. These guys are quite nasty, you know? There might even be a small reward, so think of it as cooperating with the city"s security on a national level….」
「Sigh, this is also annoying. Anyway, you got it all, right? Right now, I have eight teeth in my hand—incisors, canines, premolars. These could belong to your friend or even you.」
「Wish you all the best.」
The voice abruptly stopped.
The sky, as always, was wrapped in silence. However, the people of the 50th-floor city seemed to find the silence in the sky burdensome. About ten seconds pa.s.sed before the usual hustle and bustle of everyday life slowly returned.
"Those b.a.s.t.a.r.ds. Catching more rat-like disciples again…"
"Poor librarians. But, where did Hamustra disappear to?"
"It"s obvious, isn"t it? The Constellation Killer must have killed him."
"Ugh. Because of that one guy, so many are suffering."
It was a conversation I couldn"t help but be interested in. I turned towards the table next to me.
"Excuse me. I have a question, if you don"t mind…"
"What is it?"
An elderly hunter furrowed his brows.
He was a hunter with curly hair and an eyepatch over his left eye.
Not just her, but all the hunters at the table, regardless of gender, had curly hair and wore eyepatches.
"...."
Overwhelmed by their striking appearance, I momentarily lost my words.
I stuttered, trying to ask as politely as possible.
"…No, it"s just that. Um. I haven"t been up to date with the 50th floor"s affairs lately… It"s been what, three months? I just got here after three months. What exactly is going on with the Magic Tower?"
"Eh? You haven"t heard that Hamustra has disappeared?"
The curly-haired hunters stared at me intently.
It was quite intimidating.
"I think I"ve heard something like that…"
"Oh dear, there"s a widespread rumor that the Constellation Killer killed him!"
It seemed that the curly-haired hunters" group was desperate for someone to listen to their chatter. They enthusiastically discussed amongst themselves while tearing into a peculiarly shaped bread snack.
"It"s been a while since [The Corner Librarian]"s faith was completely cut off. Hamustra was always indifferent to his disciples, so even if you talked to him, he wouldn"t respond, but now, it feels like he doesn"t exist at all. Here. This friend used to be a disciple of Hamustra."
Curly Hair A nudged Curly Hair B in the ribs.
Curly Hair B grimaced and mumbled something while chewing on a piece of bread, clearly uncomfortable with the topic.
"…Quiet. I"m not one anymore."
"Hehe, Hamustra"s disciples might not have been many, but they were fiercely loyal. And then he just disappeared suddenly? I can understand why the librarians are in despair."
"...."
I sensed an ominous premonition. Had Hamustra lost his power as a constellation, and because of that, something significant, something I hadn"t antic.i.p.ated and hadn"t been aware of until now, occurred?
"That… Was [The Corner Librarian] originally popular?"
"Hmm? No, not particularly."
Curly Hair A a.s.serted confidently.
"[The Corner Librarian] is just too unfriendly to hunters. Why, other constellations give small quests one by one, leading naturally to the final quest, right?"
"Ah. Yes…."
Is that so?
I"ve never wors.h.i.+ped a constellation, so I wouldn"t know.
But Curly Hair A didn"t seem to realize that I wasn"t a follower of any constellation. He spoke as if it was the most natural thing.
"But [The Corner Librarian] is different. He just throws a goal like [Save this world from destruction] at you and leaves the rest up to you. Tsk tsk. It"s irresponsibility to the point of driving people crazy."
"...."
"No rewards during quests. No hints. Even if a hunter is in danger, most constellations give a chance or two, but not him. He just lets you die mercilessly! You can say it"s high freedom, but on the flip side, it"s just a constellation neglecting its disciples. How can it be popular?"
"…That"s what I liked about Lord Hamustra, his strictness."
Curly Hair B, who had been quietly eating snacks, spoke up.
"Ordinary constellations just give quests and that"s it. Lord Hamustra, he gave us a world to s.h.i.+ne in. Understand? He prepared everything and then didn"t interfere with the players at all. How amazing is that!"
"See,
there"s a fanatic for you," A chuckled.
"But now it"s over. As I said, the response has completely disappeared!"
"...."
"These disciples are really ignorant. If their master is dead, they should just pick another constellation and start serving it, but Hamustra"s disciples are so loyal they won"t switch faiths. Instead, they band together trying to survive… Do you think those spider-like people from the Magic Tower will leave them alone? Of course not, they"ll capture these masterless hunters and enslave them."
"Shut up! Lord Hamustra isn"t dead! He"s just gone into hiding to escape the Constellation Killer"s pursuit!"
Hmmm….
"Whoa, scary. Should I shut up because you said so? Didn"t the Magic Tower folks say the strong don"t have to? I"ve been a hunter serving [The Lone Seeker of Truth] for over 20 years. I"m about to become an apostle. And you? Aren"t you just a loser who lost your beloved master and switched faiths?"
"You b.a.s.t.a.r.d!"
"Um… excuse me."
I cautiously interjected between the arguing hunters.
"What if Hamustra wasn"t killed by the Constellation Killer?"
"Huh?"
"What?"
The hunters looked at me as if I was speaking nonsense, their eyes filled with condescension, seeing me as a naive beginner.
I couldn"t reveal the truth to these people, so I cautiously continued.
"What I mean is… there"s no confirmed reason for Hamustra"s disappearance, right? Maybe it wasn"t the Constellation Killer. Or maybe, just maybe… he might not even be dead."
"Not dead?"
Curly Hair A asked mockingly.
"The aura of the constellation is completely gone. Disciples call out, but there"s no response. And if he"s not dead, what, did he run away from home?"
"…Maybe… he descended to become human."
"What, descended? Human?"
A laughed out loud. B, who had been arguing with A, also looked incredulous. In fact, all the curly-haired hunters who were watching our conversation chuckled.
"Ha! This guy is definitely a newbie."
"Descended? I"ve never heard such a thing in my life."
"Listen, young man. Constellations are constellations, and humans are humans. Especially Hamustra, a renowned constellation among constellations. Dying is one thing, but where did you hear such an absurd urban legend?"
"...."
But it"s true.
Hamustra really became human and is working part-time at a cafe.
He"s even popular with the customers, receiving lots of tips….
"Of course, it"s possible that someone other than the Constellation Killer killed Hamustra. Maybe another constellation. But that"s unlikely! No one has ever claimed to have killed Hamustra. Such a feat would be remarkable; who would hide it?"
"Yeah. Hunters wouldn"t miss a chance to boast about themselves."
"And constellations have no reason to hide it either. It must be the Constellation Killer, that madman."
"Hmm...."
I asked one last question.
"Really, what if… what if it wasn"t the Constellation Killer? What then?"
That"s when it happened.
Curly Hair B"s eyes flashed dangerously.
"We"d have to catch and kill that b.a.s.t.a.r.d!"
Bang!
Unable to contain his anger, B slammed his fist on the table.
"How dare someone other than the Constellation Killer harm our celestial librarian, our precious master! I"d throw him to the void monsters after cutting off his tongue! The villain! I"d tear him limb from limb, impale him from head to toe!"
B"s eyes, a former disciple of Hamustra, blazed with fury. It was a terrifying killing intent. The other hunters joined in, agreeing vehemently.
"Hamustra fanatics are formidable. Their love for their master is genuine. Tsk tsk. You may not know, but if there were a real culprit, all the disciples of Hamustra in the universe, hunters from every stage would swarm to kill them."
"Yeah. The extermination squad would easily number in the thousands!"
"It"s only because the Constellation Killer is a universal-level lunatic that everyone keeps quiet. If it"s someone other than the Constellation Killer? Oh boy, that would be real chaos. I don"t even want to think about it."
"There would be a bloodbath!"
All hunters except B laughed heartily.
As if they had heard an amusing joke.
Of course, I didn"t find it funny at all.
-Zombie. Do you understand now?
"...."
-Everything I said was the absolute truth, without a single lie.
Bae Hu-ryeong chuckled at me, who was sweating profusely.
-You really are the boss of evil, you crazy cult leader lich.
Yeah...
At least I know there"s one thing I need to resolve on the 50th floor.....