Chapter 308: Layer by Layer (1)
1.
"Death King… No, Gong-ja~nim. Sorry, but please let me say just one thing…"
"Surprisingly, Alchemist~nim, you have the right to freely speak not just one word but a hundred, a thousand words. That"s under the a.s.sumption that the other person generously listens. And not to boast, but I"m originally quite a generous person."
"Gong-ja~nim, you are seriously an idiot right now…"
That was the first thing the alchemist said after examining me for 30 seconds.
"I don"t mean it in a derogatory sense, but really. Literally an idiot. Not just any idiot, but a tremendous idiot."
"That"s a bit harsh."
"Then I"ll go for crazy…"
"What?"
"Huh?"
I tilted my head in confusion, and the alchemist did the same. Time, far surpa.s.sing human cognitive ability, flowed for an instant.
The alchemist continued nonchalantly.
"How can you be alive in such a condition…? Right now, I could write a thesis on Gong-ja~nim"s condition. This, the arm. Like this. Yap."
"Aaaahhh!?"
"See how easily it bends? The curve is very smooth, just like this. Yap. Like that."
"Kiaaak Huk Eunoo Ahkkwewae Aaaak!!"
"Yeah. The bone is completely shattered. You know when you crush raw noodles and eat them, the crumbs that remain under the bag…? Gong-ja~nim, you are currently in a crumb-like state all over your body… including your jaw and skull, here."
"I give up! I give up! Stop bending it! I"m going to die!"
"You talk as if you are still alive. As if you aren"t a corpse…"
I am alive!
"For now, I will treat you."
The alchemist sighed.
"However, the more severe the injury, the greater the backlash of my skill. I will try to a.s.sist with potions as much as possible, but the pain will still be immense…"
"Uh. If we consider the pain just now as level 1, what level would the pain a.s.sociated with the treatment be?"
"Don"t overreact like you"ve been hit by a slime."
Indeed.
Is she telling me to die?
I"ve lived a life without shame.
"Gong-ja~nim, you have two choices."
"Choosing between life and death has always been a difficult question for me."
"Will you receive treatment all at once? Or, would you like to receive treatment bit by bit – arms, legs, twelve organs, head, shoulders, feet, knees, feet?"
"Please tell me the difference."
"Well, is it about enduring pain beyond death all at once, or experiencing pain worth dying several times…?"
"A choice between death and death…"
Die to live. Or, Die over and over to live. Even Admiral Yi Sun-sin would find himself at a loss before such a redundant set of choices. This can never be a speech to motivate the soldiers. Even the most patriotic soldier would shout "h.e.l.l Joseon" and flee. (ED: About h.e.l.l Josen read here–> )
"So… What will you choose?"
"I choose death!"
"Sorry. I don"t understand which one you are referring to…"
"Well, it"s better to get hit by the cane all at once."
Based on my many years of life experience, I said.
"Just treat me all at once. It will hurt for a moment and then be over."
"Okay."
The alchemist took out a gla.s.s cylinder from her pocket.
A thick, red liquid, like hangover soup, sloshed inside the gla.s.s bottle.
"Now, please lie down."
I lay down.
"Close your eyes."
I closed my eyes.
"Then… please live."
I lived.
"…Yes?"
There was no answer.
Feeling an inexplicable sense of foreboding, I blinked—–
2.
Blink.
When I opened my eyes, I saw purple irises right before me.
It was the face of the Tower Master.
-....
The Tower Master, expressionless, looked down and muttered.
-...This is a bit troublesome.
Amethyst~nim?
-You shouldn"t have come to a place like this yet.
What?
-Please go back.
What do you mean?
Wait a minute.
But where is this,
3.
"—Hup!"
I suddenly sat up.
The back of my neck was damp.
"Wha, what? It felt like I just realistically experienced the afterlife…"
"Are you finally awake?"
A familiar voice reached my ears.
The Elder. Grey Spider was lying on the bed next to me, leaning back.
She too seemed to have received treatment, her body wrapped in bandages, sipping some unidentified red juice through a straw.
"Hey. That healer you brought was amazing. A year"s worth of recuperation got reduced to a week. I"d like to hire her for our tower."
"Uh, well. The Alchemist is a bit overpowered… Wait a minute. A week? A week has pa.s.sed?"
"You"ve been screaming like a chicken for 173 hours, 31 minutes, and 26 seconds, so roughly a week, I guess."
Goodness.
[s.h.i.+ny congratulates you on your safe return, brave knight.]
The holy sword on the bed vibrated with a woo-woo sound.
That"s impossible. I had only closed my eyes for a moment.
It didn"t feel real that a week had pa.s.sed in that brief interval.
"What happened?"
"What do you mean? My life? It"s a mess."
"Not that. I remember defeating you and capturing you."
I had defeated the Grey Spider.
But that glorious moment was brief. My injuries were too severe, and I had to leave the battlefield. Somehow, we managed to contact our world and called Alchemist for treatment, which I received that day.
…Treatment?
Could that even be called treatment?
Perhaps a newly developed, sophisticated method of a.s.sa.s.sination.
Anyway.
"Our duel is one thing, but the outcome of the battle hasn"t been decided yet."
That"s right.
The Magic Tower lost their leader, the Elder. It seemed like the Anti-Magic Tower Alliance was gaining the upper hand. But even so, the spiders refused to surrender, barricading themselves in the five spires.
Naturally, theAnti-Magic Towe Alliance surrounded these spires.
A long and tiresome siege began.
That"s what I was asking about – the outcome of that siege.
"I understand what you"re expecting, but nothing has been decided yet."
Grey Spider shrugged her shoulders.
"Sure, my capture must"ve shocked them. But surrender is another matter. They won"t raise the white flag unless defeat is absolutely certain."
"Even if I threaten your life?"
"Of course, some might waver."
Grey Spider smirked.
"But you wouldn"t do that."
"Well, that"s true."
I nodded.
"You"re not planning to escape and start a second fight, are you?"
"I really want to, but… No. As much as I hate and despise underhanded tactics, a duel is a duel, a test is a test. Unless you try to kill me, I"ll stay put as a prisoner."
Grey Spider muttered, mentioning the triple layers of sealing magic making escape difficult.
Surprisingly, she seemed quite calm about her defeat.
"Ah. Maybe you"re trying to look good in front of Bae Hu-ryeong…"
"Really, what are you trying to imply?"
"A strong denial often means…"
"It"s just a strong denial. You sc.u.mbag."
"Aaaaah!!"
"Hyaah!?"
To describe the recent incident, Grey Spider lifted her bandaged leg and hit my waist, and my not-yet-healed ribs screamed in pain. Similarly, Grey Spider"s also not-yet-healed leg bone crumbled.
It was a magnificent harmony.
As a result, I was gasping, holding my waist, while Grey Spider groaned, clutching her leg.
"Uuuk… Uh…"
"d.a.m.n it…"
In the hospital room, the groans of two people filled the air. There was no room to blame each other for their foolishness. It was just purely, very, very painful.
Truly, when it really hurts, words don"t come out.
Bae Hu-ryeong looked at us with eyes that seemed to say, "What kind of fools are these?"
– Are you guys idiots?
"Sword Emperor said he"s been in love with you for 15,511 years…"
– Really want to die!?
"Oh. Truly a match made in heaven."
I put aside the pain.
Such is life.
It"s my life… by Kim Gong-ja.
[s.h.i.+ny looks at you with worried eyes today, thinking you are being very heroic.]
It"s because my whole body is in pain. Understand.
"Anyway, the fight isn"t over yet. It"s not over until it"s over."
"Hmm. Excuse me, but isn"t the situation already concluded? The leader was captured, and you"re surrounded. What more do you need to admit that defeat is certain?"
"Well… Hmmm."
Grey Spider narrowed her eyes and glanced over here.
"Maybe by now, the deadlock has been broken."
There was something ominous in her eyes.
"…What do you mean by that?"
"Our Magic Tower has tentacles spread across dozens of worlds. Kid. We did summon a large army after a long time, but that"s not our entire force. If the children holed up in the spires are the main force, then there are others we could call "guerrilla units"."
"While they"re holding out here with a siege, the guerrilla units might have attacked your world."
What?
"Until a week ago, we had no way of knowing where your world was. You hid underground like a paranoid mole. But, a week ago, you called for a healer. That"s when our kids would have pinpointed the coordinates of your world. While you were unconscious!"
Grey Spider wore a triumphant expression.
As if she had landed a big blow.
"What the..."
"Ah, ah. Little Sword Emperor. You are certainly strong. I"ll acknowledge that. But remember this opportunity to learn. In war, being strong alone doesn"t guarantee victory."
Grey Spider clicked her tongue, tsk, tsk, and shook her fist. She probably intended to waggle her fingers back and forth, but the bandages made her hands like mute gloves, so she failed.
"You captured me as a prisoner, but we"ve taken your entire world hostage. If you were a typical psychopath like most hunters who cleared 50 floors, you might say, "So what?". But you"re kind. Crazy, but kind."
"This can"t be happening…"
"Yes. Death King. Your goodness is what has caught you."
"How could you use such a foolish strategy…"
"...Hmm?"
Grey Spider tilted her head in confusion.
*****
Groans from two people filled the hospital room. There was no leeway to blame each other for their foolishness. It was just purely, very, very painful.
Truly, when it really hurts, you can"t speak.
Bae Hu-ryeong looked at us with eyes that seemed to say, "What kind of idiots are these?"
– Are you both idiots?
"Anyway, think of this as a valuable lesson. Well, I"m not a demon. You"re still young and have a bright future ahead. As a token of acknowledging your serious acceptance of the defeat in our duel, let"s call it a draw. One win, one loss. It"ll be a great experience."
"That"s true. I have a feeling something great is about to happen."
"…What? That nonchalant att.i.tude. Let"s see if you can stay so relaxed after seeing people from your world begging for their lives and asking to be saved."
The next day.
"Ugor."
A rumbling sound echoed.
"Some flies were buzzing around, so I had to swat them a bit roughly."
On the ground were dozens of unconscious spiders.
All of them were commanders with significant magical power. About six hundred other spiders, who would have been under their command, were tied up outside the building.
Uburka stood with his arms crossed, looking resolute.
"I would have preferred to resolve the misunderstanding through dialogue, but they wouldn"t listen. I had no choice but to use my fists."
"How sad."
"Such is life. Any problems, Daddy?"
"Oh."
I waved from my bed, munching on potato chips.
"...."
Grey Spider on the adjacent bed had her mouth agape.
"Except for the slight feeling of dying from pain, I"m perfectly fine. Son."
"No different from usual, then."
"Well, just a regular day. Any trouble in Babylon?"
"No major trouble. Ugor. Just minor ones. Apart from these, all sorts of merchants from various worlds have been flocking in."
"Oh dear. And then?"
"Even if our world is new, the news should have spread by now. If they have any learning ability, they won"t dare to mess with Babylon anymore."
"Hmm."
I put down the bag of potato chips.
Looking back at Grey Spider.
"That"s how it is."
"Anyway, think of it as a good lesson. Well, I"m not a demon. The Elder has her age to consider. In recognition of the splendid duel you showed, I"ll be considerate. I have one win. You have one loss."
I smiled brightly.
"It will be a great experience!"
Grey Spider slowly wrapped her head.
Then, she muttered in a voice as if cursing the universe.
"Someone, please beat this brat for me…"
Hang in there.
Life is beautiful, isn"t it?