Chapter 170

Chapter 170
## Chapter 170: Collision of the Rising Stars

“Was the Emperor Penguin too much for your nerves?”

“Boooooo!”

The arena erupted in a storm of mockery.

For any warrior attempting to scale the heights of the War God’s Tower, such a display was the ultimate disgrace.

Karas, however, simply turned away, exiting the combat zone without uttering a single word.

He appeared entirely indifferent to the conclusion of the bout.

It wasn’t just confusing; it was patently ridiculous.

Sansha, watching from above, shared that sentiment of disbelief.

“…Has he lost his mind?”

Sansha’s brow furrowed into a deep scowl.

He had viewed Karas as a vital instrument in his current gambit.

Karas was supposed to be the whetstone that revealed the Emperor Penguin’s true edge and forced the reigning champion to take notice.

But this sudden exit? It shattered Sansha’s carefully laid plans.

“What could possibly be the reason…?”

No matter how he analyzed it, the logic didn’t hold.

If Karas had intended to forfeit from the start, there would have been no point in stepping onto the sands.

It was evident that Karas had recognized something in the Emperor Penguin and decided to withdraw immediately.

Had they traded secret signals? Did they have an existing arrangement?

‘Impossible. Karas isn’t a man who negotiates.’

Sansha dismissed the thought with a shake of his head.

He believed he was the only one capable of pulling Karas’s strings.

He held the single leverage point, the one vulnerability that could force the warrior to act.

There was no way a newcomer like the Emperor Penguin could have unearthed it.

So, why the retreat?

“…Investigate the Emperor Penguin thoroughly.”

There had to be a hidden factor.

While the Tower of the War God usually shielded the identities of its climbers, Sansha was convinced there was a secret buried within the Penguin that he needed to possess.

Following his order, the covert agents of the Tower vanished into the darkness.

Now that his curiosity was piqued, the Emperor Penguin’s history would be stripped bare.

And regardless of what those shadows found…

‘Emperor Penguin. I will find your breaking point.’

He would grab hold of it and use it to dismantle him.

Sansha felt no doubt.

He possessed the resources to find a flaw in even the most divine being.

—

—You…

Just before Karas disappeared, a psychic resonance struck his mind.

It was the voice of the crow-faced warrior.

—The lineage of the dark portents.

The warrior had seen through his disguise to his fundamental soul in a heartbeat.

Dark portents.

A herald of catastrophe. That was the implication.

Even after merging with Baal to attain the status of the “One Who Blooms Darkness,” the foundational essence hadn’t been completely overwritten—that was likely how Karas had identified him.

After all, Karas himself wore the visage of a crow.

‘I assumed that was just a theatrical choice. Is he actually a crow?’

…I really thought the bird face was just part of his persona.

Was Karas perhaps a deity belonging to a crow-based race?

**[Lv. ???]**

**[Information suppressed by the Tower’s demigod protection.]**

**[Hint: If you advance your Truth-Seeking talent further, you will be able to perceive the status of higher-order entities.]**

No level, no data.

The divine shielding of the Tower was neutralizing his “Great Sage” ability.

However, that restriction was limited to “inside the Tower.” If he could force Karas into the world “outside the Tower,” the power dynamic would shift.

Furthermore, that hint was significant.

By refining Truth-Seeking, he could eventually strip away the mysteries of gods themselves.

It spoke volumes about the untapped growth within his Great Sage trait.

Karas spoke once more.

—I never anticipated encountering the vanished tribe of ill omens again. You were the original “custodians” of this spire—the heirs of that ancient sovereign…

Wait.

The tribe of ill omens used to run the Tower of the War God?

Crows. But far from ordinary.

He suddenly thought back to the avian spirits he had called forth as harbingers of doom.

The creatures he had summoned to intimidate Baal beneath that crimson, weeping sun—they were far removed from mundane birds.

Could those have been the members of the tribe of ill omens?

With that, Karas officially conceded.

He felt no desire to cross blades with a member of that specific lineage.

In fact, he seemed almost cordial.

—Stay wary of Sansha, the master of this Tower. He is a different breed of threat than anyone you have encountered thus far.

With those parting words, he walked away, his pace steady and unbidding.

—

The 18th floor.

Only two levels remained between him and the throne of the champion.

Yet, a sense of unease lingered.

‘Something is missing.’

Sansha hadn’t placed Karas on the 17th floor by accident.

But with Karas’s forfeiture, the champion hadn’t shown any significant reaction.

‘He’s waiting to see the full extent of my capabilities.’

He had been dominant, yes, but he hadn’t yet proven he was a peer to the top.

The spectators were entertained, but he wasn’t yet perceived as a true threat to the title.

Sansha had clearly intended for Karas to drag out his maximum effort.

The logic was simple: one must surpass a demigod and Tower owner like Karas to be worthy of the champion.

This implied the current title-holder was even more formidable than Karas.

An adversary that perhaps even Wilhelm hadn’t engaged.

He couldn’t help but speculate on the champion’s true nature.

‘There’s only one path forward.’

If the champion required a demonstration, he would provide one.

The question was how to trigger it.

And through whom.

His previous opponents had been lackluster.

None possessed the skill to truly challenge his blade.

Even Karas, his best hope for a real duel, had walked away.

“‘Bunny Girl’ lays down a challenge to the ‘Emperor Penguin’!”

“What a turn of events!”

“The two greatest prospects are finally going head-to-head!”

Auril.

It was time to utilize his hidden asset.

—

Auril inhaled deeply, centering herself.

—Give me everything you have. Fight to kill.

She had been granted another opportunity to test herself against Randolph.

‘I won’t repeat my past blunders. Not this time.’

Previously, she had been too impulsive.

She had lunged in without analyzing her foe, her swordplay frantic and uncoordinated.

She had been defeated before even tapping into half of her potential.

But things were different now.

Now that the weight of Randolph’s overwhelming presence no longer paralyzed her, perhaps the result would change.

‘My laurel leaf has flourished.’

Since forming a pact with Randolph, Auril’s laurel leaf—the source of her power—had been growing at an unprecedented rate.

It was nothing short of a phenomenon.

Her growth had been stagnant compared to her elven peers for years.

“Emperor Penguin and Bunny Girl! Both are on incredible winning streaks!”

“The battle between the master of provocation and the girl who finishes every fight in three seconds!”

“I’ll tell you, I have no idea who takes this one.”

The commentators were whipping the audience into a frenzy.

The crowd leaned in, their eyes fixed on the center of the arena.

‘The fear is gone.’

Auril locked eyes with Randolph.

That immense reservoir of will no longer intimidated her.

And the sickening “stale air” she perceived from other humans was absent here.

Randolph was fundamentally distinct from the rest of humanity.

So unique that she found herself genuinely drawn to him.

‘Victory will be mine.’

Auril raised her blade.

—

‘It is time to discard this lingering attachment.’

The champion remained perched at the Tower’s summit, looking down.

For an entire year, he had kept his vigil, waiting for Wilhelm.

Hoping for the man to climb the stairs once more for a rematch.

But he knew the truth.

Wilhelm had perished during the Great Expedition.

How could a man slain by the Demon King ever return to the Tower of the War God?

‘The memories within this star… confirm Wilhelm’s end.’

Fragments of Wilhelm’s life were stored within the star he possessed.

While incomplete, some visions were vivid.

One was the sight of Wilhelm falling before the Demon King, his very essence being usurped.

Most importantly, there was a memory linked to the “ultimate technique.”

‘Wilhelm’s masterpiece. The Walls that Remake Heaven and Earth.’

He only possessed a fraction of it.

Yet even that small piece made his blood run cold.

The final “Wall” was a technique designed to bring down deities.

To manifest that “Wall,” however, one needed the totality of Wilhelm’s stars.

They had to be unified to reach perfection.

If the Demon King managed to seize the star currently within the champion, the results would be apocalyptic.

‘The Demon King is collecting Wilhelm’s stars.’

The champion was certain of this.

The Demon King was on a hunt for the scattered pieces of Wilhelm’s soul.

The King would likely sense their locations by instinct, as they were once part of his own conquest.

Even if the champion stayed hidden, the Demon King would eventually arrive.

How did he know?

Pure intuition. A feeling in his bones.

And when that day arrived… the Tower would be powerless.

Sansha, Karas, and even himself—none of them could halt the Demon King’s advance.

Not as they were now.

So, he had kept his silence.

He wouldn’t surrender his star without a fight, of course.

‘Regardless.’

The champion shut his eyes.

The time he had before the Demon King found him was a gift.

He would let go of his obsession. He needed to find a new purpose.

‘Karas gave up the fight, did he?’

He recalled the reports from the previous day.

It was the first time the demigod Karas, under Sansha’s thumb, had ever forfeited a match.

Karas was a warrior of immense pride; he usually fought until the bitter end.

Yet he had bowed out the moment he faced the Emperor Penguin.

Why?

Did he realize he was outmatched?

Or did he see a quality in the Penguin that transcended combat?

Either way, the champion’s interest was sparked.

‘I think I’ll observe this for myself.’

The champion opened his eyes.

The old obsession had finally faded.

Waiting for a ghost was the height of stupidity.

He had indulged in that stupidity for a year, but it was time to move forward.

For the first time in twelve months, the champion descended into the lower levels.

He wanted to see the Emperor Penguin who had caused Karas to falter.

He wanted to witness the Bunny Girl versus Emperor Penguin duel firsthand.

‘An elf?’

Upon arriving, the champion’s focus shifted from the Penguin to the girl.

He saw through her disguise instantly.

‘What business does an elf have in the Tower of the War God?’

Her kind were notoriously reclusive.

It was an anomaly that demanded attention.

As for the Emperor Penguin…

‘He is also an enigma.’

There was a strange fusion of essences within him.

It wasn’t just one or two anomalies.

He felt as though he occupied a space beyond the human condition.

That was likely what had spooked Karas.

‘However, he is no Wilhelm.’

Wilhelm was the one who had made his heart race.

The quintessential knight whose every movement was a work of art.

‘…Something is peculiar.’

Why did a sense of familiarity wash over him?

The way the Emperor Penguin stood.

The specific cadence of movement that the champion had replayed in his mind every day for a year.

It was impossible.

Perhaps he hadn’t truly let go of his obsession after all.

Then, the duel commenced.

“That… that sword style…?”

The champion’s face went pale with shock.

—

Auril mentally reviewed their previous encounter.

‘Lord Randolph’s blade controls the very air.’

To step into his reach was to be ensnared.

Every action was anticipated, your muscles becoming heavy and unresponsive.

But Auril had considered a different theory.

‘The secret isn’t spatial control; it’s mental perception.’

He didn’t dominate the space itself.

He read the spark of intent in the mind and countered before the body could react.

If her theory held, there was only one way to bypass his defense.

‘The Void of Mind.’

A state where the sword moves without the ego.

No planning, no intent—just the body flowing where the opening exists.

Such a state cannot be forced by will.

‘The Void means trusting the body to act on its own.’

Among the warriors of the laurel, her technical skill was unrivaled.

She had dedicated her life to the blade; she *was* the sword.

Auril slowly let her eyelids close.