Chapter 302: Grey Spider (1)
1.
I feel like I have never experienced a cool breeze in my life.
In autumn, the scent of the maple leaves was overwhelming because there was no other scent. Spring was fresh. In summer, there was a fishy smell from the water. Being alive, anything was repulsive.
The "Grey Spider" wanted to die in autumn.
– Witch Race.
Who gave them that name?
The term witch (魔女) didn"t just mean a magician who casts spells. In the language of this world, Niglus-Kukulu, Ma (魔) carried nuances of all kinds of disgust and contempt. [Forsaken], [Sacrilegious], [The 23rd], [Cursed].
Ye (女) didn"t just mean gender. To begin with, there were more than four genders in this place. The binary of male and female wasn"t applicable. Mirgal. If I had to find a somewhat suitable translation, it would be [Grey]. Amidst red, blue, and green, the primary colors that dominated the world, [Grey] could only produce descendants by receiving seeds from other genders.
[Cursed race of Grey].
Witch Race.
The season when the "Grey Spider" was born was autumn.
– Poor thing.
Perhaps its mother didn"t know what she was saying.
– Why be born into such a world…
The mother didn"t recognize the true value of the newborn child. That the child would understand all the words the mother was muttering under her breath. The child, by nature, was born blessed to "remember everything it saw and heard." It had already heard and felt a lot in the womb.
The mother had given birth to a genius without realizing it.
– Poor thing…
A handful of moisture.
A bit of blood color.
The gaze looking down on itself and the hand pa.s.sing over the forehead. Pity disguised as love, resignation imitating comfort, death camouflaged as life. The smell. The smell of the mother.
The smell of autumn.
– Why in such a place…
The Grey Spider began to hate the world.
2.
– I don"t have any particular feelings towards the elder.
Bae Hu-ryeong said.
– To me, emotions are actions. Zombies. It"s just that they don"t often show on the outside, but that"s also an action. Just feel as it comes? Maybe? Those who live as life goes on might think so. Not me.
Bae Hu-ryeong crossed his arms.
– My decision to not care about the elder was entirely my own. If she had suggested climbing the tower with me, she would have followed me. If she wanted to be friends, we might have become friends. But I chose not to do so. Not just with the elder! I didn"t make a single companion.
I asked why.
– Because there are countless people in this world who don"t even have the opportunity to make companions.
Bae Hu-ryeong looked up at the Magic Tower.
– Friends.h.i.+p is luck. Even a lover is a coincidence. Kim Zombie. You obtaining numerous companions, dating, friends, serving teachers, and meeting loved ones are all indebted to luck. It"s also a treasure you"ve grasped through your efforts, but the very fact that such people were born is a miracle in itself.
Thud.
I stepped on the last stair and exited the cave.
– Don"t think that such luck is granted to everyone.
I, too, looked up at the spire that Bae Hu-ryeong had been watching before.
– There are lives with no one by their side. People who never enjoy luck until the end, until death.
There are countless lives just waiting to be betrayed. Such people eventually give up. They resign themselves. No longer seeing a reason to live desperately, no reason to climb higher than they are now.
The Magic Tower truly deserved the prefix Ma (魔) – demonic.
A building is a base for living in the world. It has doors and windows, allowing one to go out into the world and peer outside.
But, the Magic Tower had no doors. From top to bottom, it was dyed solely in black. Not the black that reflects the sun, but a black that even swallows sunlight.
Therefore, the Magic Tower resembled a body rather than a building. Not an extension of the world, but a will to defy it, the tower, shaped like a finger, rose from the ground and reached towards the sky.
– I wanted to show it to those kinds of people.
That finger, I looked up at it with determination.
– It"s okay not to have companions.
I counted the seconds in my mind.
– It"s okay not to find a love worth devoting your life to.
23 seconds, 22 seconds, 21 seconds…
– Even if fate doesn"t grant you luck, it"s still good.
18 seconds.
– Yet, you can still climb higher.
15 seconds.
– Look! I am the Sword Emperor. I have reached the zenith of this world alone. Why did I climb? Not for the people in front of me. Not for those who lived in this era with me. Let them all go to h.e.l.l!
5 seconds.
– To those who have nothing, to those who are alone, I climbed the tower to show you, to [prove] to you! Even though no one could mean anything to you.
1 second.
– You have already become meaningful to me.
Beeep.
A burst of static in my head. Someone was trying to send a telepathic message. It was the Magic Tower.
Just by looking at the Magic Tower for more than 23 seconds, it reacts. It"s a system. Don"t look at us, don"t watch us, don"t even dare to glance over, it warns. In a timeline devoured by regression, I had exploited this unwritten rule before.
「Ah, ah. Mic test. Mic test. Who"s there looking over?」
As expected, the spokesperson for the Magic Tower sent a telepathic message.
「Speak nicely now. We"ve been under a lot of stress lately, you know? We don"t have time to play with every lunatic. I, of course, love catching mad fools and torturing them, but luckily for us, we"re busy… Huh? What"s this?」
The sleepy voice suddenly sharpened.
「You"re with the a.s.sistant Writer, aren"t you? Hey, d.a.m.n, that G.o.dd.a.m.n fugitive!」
Beep!
The telepathic wavelength intensified. As the spokesperson of the Magic Tower had said, the a.s.sistant Writer was standing next to me.
The person who looked up at the Magic Tower. I wasn"t the only one who violated the 23-second taboo. The a.s.sistant Writer, too, had been staring at the Magic Tower ever since we came out of the cave.
「You, you"re dead! How dare you brazenly show your face here? Huh? And being with that writer kid? Are you the Death King or something? Such sc.u.m. Hey! Knee Socks! Go report to the spiders right now!」
Furthermore.
It wasn"t just the two of us.
「...?」
Beeep!
「...Oh my? Seems it"s not just one or two crazies?」
The telepathic wavelength fluctuated again. The spokesperson, who initially targeted only me, then sent simultaneous telepathic messages to the a.s.sistant Writer, and then to someone else somewhere.
「Alright. These guys have all gone mad, haven"t they? Good. Ha, this is going to be fun! We"ve already prepared a punitive force in antic.i.p.ation of this!」
Beeep.
「We even called in the colonial garrison troops from other towers! Hahah! Have you heard of "The Duke of Bone Thorns"? Called back to headquarters for the first time in 300 years, he"s really eager! He"ll make you realize just how many capillaries you have in your body…」
Beep, Beeep!
「...will show you! What the h.e.l.l? Seriously, what is this. Hey! Hey! They"re really… No, no, let me tell you some good news. Over the past few days, our elite troops have been gathering? It"s been hundreds of years since such a large force a.s.sembled! Ahaha! Good! Now now, look! The "Fallen from Heaven" are all prepared and ready to go—-.」
Beeeeeep!
Beep, Beeep! Beep, Beeep!
「...」
Beep, Beeep! Beep, Beeep! Beep!
「…...」
Dozens.
「Uh...」
Hundreds.
「Now,」
Thousands.
「Call the Elder! Right now!!」
Everyone who had resolved to join the Anti-Magic Tower Alliance with us.
Dozens of refugees walking out of the cave through multiple exits, hunters sitting silently with a drink at the open-air bar, followers bargaining with mat merchants on the streets as usual.
[The Incarnation of Love and l.u.s.t declares war on the Magic Tower.]
[The Last Sword in the Wilderness declares war on the Magic Tower.]
[The Lone Seeker of Truth declares war on the Magic Tower.]
[The Eye Living in the Labyrinth declares war on the Magic Tower.]
[The Bell that Mourns the Dead declares war on the Magic Tower.]
[The Warhorse of the Eternal Plains declares war on the Magic Tower.]
I raised the Sword of rebellion.
Against the Power that didn"t even allow a glance.
A devil"s nest with an eternity set up on the 50th floor.
Our declaration of war began by looking at that place.
– That"s why I have no regrets.
Bae Hu-ryeong smiled.
– I lived as I wanted to live. I showed it for the countless unlucky and miserable souls yet to be born. Climb! Right now, there is no one by your side. But that"s just a coincidence. Raise your middle finger to coincidence, and climb like me. Upwards. Higher! Even higher!
The spokesperson no longer spoke to me.
Only sounds of confusion and panic reached my ears.
– Well, if you"re worried about the humans I didn"t manage to take care of.
And then.
– You take care of them, Kim Gong-ja.
Screeeeeech!
It was a wailing scream.
A noise that refused to become sound. A cry of agony. Metal sc.r.a.ping against metal, the five spires vibrated simultaneously, and five fingers raised their nails, tearing through the dark sky.
It felt as if my whole body was being torn apart.
"It"s the [Tower"s Lament]."
The a.s.sistant Writer murmured.
"It"s been hundreds of years," she swallowed.
"...One tower crying is a [Mockery]. A warning that the power to subjugate a city is needed. When two towers cry, it"s a [Kick]. The power to conquer a stage. The crying of three towers is only for the subjugation of another world. When four towers cry, it means multiple worlds… the intent to make them kneel."
"All five towers are crying now. Right now."
"Yes."
The a.s.sistant Writer nodded.
"[No matter what beings you are, perish. We will surely annihilate you]."
Shadows engulfed the tops of the five towers.
Was it like someone throwing a stone into the sky? Ripples spread across the gloomy sky. But these ripples were pitch black, engulfing the clouds on the 50th floor and even the few rays of sunlight that managed to peek through.
– Good.
From the inverted shadows, one by one, something began to fall.
– There are times when war is hungered for.
A black meteor shower.
– Our Magic Tower is not so heartless as to ignore the cries of starving children. Cry. If you want to cry, cry. Do as you wish.
Each falling meteor was a silhouette. Magicians and witches, all cloaked in black capes, and those called spiders, poured down.
I realized that the shadow covering the sky was a giant summoning circle.
The Magic Tower too, sensing the looming war, had prepared its summons in advance.
– For you, today might be a day that comes once in a millennium.
Kwaang!
Witches bearing meteors crashed into the heart of the city. Koooung! The open-air bar was shattered. A shabby wooden house broke apart. Kwoong! Kwaaang! Countless meteor showers destroyed the streets. Screams echoed.
Dust rose throughout the city.
– But for us, it"s just another day added to a thousand years.
Thud.
From beyond the dust cloud, black spiders walked forth.
Some held a severed head in their left hand. Others, with a cut-off arm, toyed with it like a basketball, smiling. Beyond the dust cloud where the spiders emerged, no screams or moans were heard.
Only the noise of buildings collapsing rang out.
"Death King?"
The spiders murmured.
"Our prey is really called the Death King? The tower really lacks sense."
"It always has."
"It always will."
The spiders were spread far apart from each other.
Someone smashed the city"s west gate. Another, the north side bar. Yet another, the statue in the central square. Those furthest apart were literally on opposite sides of the city.
But they conversed as if huddled together.
"Maybe it"s a bit more impressive in its original name. The translation might be wrong. Perhaps it"s something like the Reaper of the Underworld, the Priest who Comforts the Wraiths, or some other plausible name, who knows?"
"It"s probably a worse name they got wrong."
"Thanks. Glad to see you. It"s been 90 years. Fortunately, your annoying nature hasn"t changed in 90 years."
"I"ve always been known to bring peace of mind to those around me."
"I hate to admit it, but I"ll tell you. Gents! I"ve missed your nonsense!"
"That"s because you"re actually a dog."
"It does feel a bit like coming home."
They exchanged telepathic messages as if it were natural.
Distance didn"t matter. The s.p.a.ce of a whole city was insignificant to them.
Their aura traversed the city, heading somewhere. The spider that received the telepathic message then sent its aura to another comrade. To my senses, thousands of spiders exchanging auras were distinctly felt.
If one were to look down from the sky at this scene, it would appear as if.
"It"s like a spiderweb."
It was the moment I casually said that.
The spiderweb covering the city stopped.
I felt a gaze.
I felt gazes.
—–Are you the Death King?———
Simultaneously. Thousands of tongues whispered.
Someone"s lips moved. Aura flowed. It was, in a way, the violence of numbers. It wasn"t particularly hostile. Nor was it laced with a curse. Just the fact that thousands of spiders were speaking in unison caused my head to reel momentarily.
"Yes."
Blood rushed to my head.
"These are the beings, the Sword Emperor faced."
My heart pumped blood.
"The rulers of the city."
I gripped the hilt of my sword. s.h.i.+ny, no, [G.o.ddess of Protection] s.h.i.+ny vibrated. Whether a b.u.t.terfly throwing itself into a spiderweb is called suicide or not, is determined only by the flutter of the b.u.t.terfly"s wings.
"You"re a good looker."
I smiled.
"I am the Death King. The successor of the Sword Emperor."
At that moment, thousands of spiders descended upon me.