Chapter 279

Chapter 279
Chapter 279

—

The Trial of ‘Eternity’

Laktusha’s gut instinct was screaming at him. Victory was an impossibility. No form of offense would bear fruit.

‘In my current condition, winning is out of the question—.’

He was absolutely certain. That entity, the Blade Dragon Queen, was truly peerless. Engaging an invincible opponent was the height of recklessness. Nevertheless, he could at least put her power to the proof.

Jwaaaaak!

His Sword-Force began to expand. It surged outward, growing larger without pause. Finally, Laktusha unleashed the Sword-Force that had blanketed the firmament in a single, massive strike.

Kwa-aaaaaaaaaaaang!

It was an assault that could not be evaded. The Blade Dragon Queen merely observed the incoming strike in silence. Then, just as the blow reached her—

‘Forced Nullification.’

Only the specific section of Sword-Force that made contact with the Blade Dragon Queen dissolved into nothingness. It was a power that rendered even Sword-Force void. If such was the case, all that remained was raw martial prowess.

Laktusha lunged forward with his right foot.

Fwhiiik!

Closing the distance in the span of a single breath, Laktusha’s blade swung toward the Blade Dragon Queen’s skull.

Cha-chang!

The Blade Dragon Queen’s scapulae elongated, stretching out to intercept Laktusha’s blade.

‘He blocked it.’

A sharp light flickered in Laktusha’s eyes. While she had erased the Sword-Force, she had used physical means to stop the direct impact of the blade. This indicated she felt the need to react to physical strikes to some degree.

‘She is beginning her assault.’

Being called invincible did not imply a lack of hostility. It meant her defensive capabilities were boundless. Since she had been brought forth here, the Blade Dragon Queen was also obligated to eliminate Laktusha.

Sha-shak!
S-aaaaaaaak!

Moments later, the long skeletal protrusions from the Blade Dragon Queen’s spine began lashing out at Laktusha. They moved like writhing tentacles. A multitude of these appendages swarmed him from the front.

Jje-eeee-eok!

In response, Laktusha’s musculature bulged and expanded instantly.

‘Absolute Defense. I abandon even the notion of striking back.’

Even if her defenses were perfect, her offensive output likely did not match that infinite durability. Laktusha poured every ounce of his spirit into focusing exclusively on his guard.

‘Try to shatter this if you are able.’

A suit of armor that could never be breached. In this state, Laktusha himself was effectively invincible. Even the mind-numbingly brutal strikes of Baal of the Four Perils had failed to crack Laktusha’s shell. He wanted to see what would happen when two invincible forces collided.

Shuuuuuuk—!

‘I stopped it…….’

Stab—!
Pu-pu-pu-pu-stab!

—

“Union. Have you returned to consciousness?”

Union, the Mage of the Golden Rule. At the sound of a familiar voice, he slowly lifted the eyelids he had kept shut.

“Mmm……”

As he opened his eyes, he couldn’t help but grimace. He was in a location where the golden monument of Randolph radiated with a blinding, solar intensity that captivated everyone’s sight.

‘The tower’s threshold.’

This was the entry point of the Tower of the War God. Yet, his limbs refused to move even a fraction of an inch.

‘The blight of Baal.’

The source of his paralysis was plain. Baal’s curse had saturated his entire physical form. He supposed he should find solace in the fact that he was still breathing.

“…Gracia.”

Union managed to speak while focusing on the man resting nearby, Gracia. In response, Gracia spoke with a face and voice that remained entirely devoid of feeling.

“You acted with great recklessness.”

“……How am I still among the living?”

“Do you truly have no recollection?”

“What memories are you referring to?”

When Union questioned him, Gracia’s brow twitched slightly in a frown.

“I am speaking of your clash with Baal. Did you not throw yourself at him the moment you stepped into the tower? You survived because you managed to retreat on your own power.”

The duel with Baal! Indeed, Union had sought out Baal immediately upon entering the Tower of the War God. However, even as a master of various unpredictable strikes utilizing his inventory, he had only been able to chip away roughly 15% of the vitality of ‘Baal of the Four Perils.’ That horror possessed a reservoir of health and raw power that far outstripped his own unconventional methods.

Yet, the most ghastly part of Baal was something else entirely.

“Ah……”

Suddenly, Union’s frame shuddered with a slight tremor. He finally recalled why he was still alive. In truth, the flow of the combat had been quite repetitive. Provided one had massive damage potential or was well-equipped, draining Baal’s life was not an insurmountable task. The nightmare began afterward.

“The blight…… D-Do not challenge him. Baal must not be defeated……!”

“What are you implying?”

“Baal is…… nothing more than an offering meant to collect curses.”

“Collecting curses? For what purpose?”

“To ‘Summon’ entities far more horrific and dreaded to this tower!”

Union’s face drained of all color. This was why he had fled. Baal was merely a massive pile of flesh with an enormous health pool. He could have drained more of that life if he wished, but he retreated because he realized Baal was a ‘lure.’

The version of Baal of the Four Perils summoned here was a concentrated mass of malice. He was a sacrificial lamb prepared by himself to enact a grander, more terrifying hex. It was impossible to guess the magnitude of the ‘curse’ being woven if it required a sacrifice as significant as Baal. If a warrior climbed the tower and slew Baal without first cleansing the corruption, an uncontrollable ‘Curse of Great Catastrophe’ would be unleashed.

This was why Union had abandoned the fight and fled. He understood that the death of a mere Baal was trivial compared to the horrors that would follow.

Gracia asked, his gaze growing even more intense.

“What exactly is being brought forth next?”

“…I cannot say. What is certain is that if Baal falls without caution, things that are real and things that are nightmares—everything will be fused and summoned. Reality will warp, and eventually, ‘Catastrophe’ itself will swallow the tower and drown the world.”

Union. He was a man of long years who had mastered the heights of various sorceries as the First Imperial Palace Mage of the Empire. This mastery included the ‘Curse-type’ magics. However, the hex being woven here within the ‘Tower of the War God’ was of a magnitude he had never before witnessed. He couldn’t fathom why a curse that belonged in the ancient Mythical Age was manifesting in the present day.

‘Baal isn’t the only sacrifice being offered.’

Every variety of curse was being funneled here. He only grasped this after he had started his assault on Baal. It was so vast and potent that even he, the Mage of the Golden Rule, had failed to notice it initially.

‘Could they be attempting to call upon the Four Great Evil Gods?’

Balakgas, Angra Mainyu, Gaz, or Diablo. Were they trying to bring one of those entities into existence? If so, Pangaea would be pushed to the brink of ‘Destruction’ once more. Pangaea, now without its Goddess, would be powerless against such an Evil God.

“Baal has already been defeated.”

“……What?”

Union’s eyes shook with sudden terror.

“Word is that a man named Sword Master Laktusha has taken him down.”

“Without cleansing the curse first, I take it?”

“That seems to be the case.”

“Ah……”

Union’s features twisted into a mask of hopelessness. The ritual was complete. Why had they made Baal so accessible even from the 1st floor? It was such an obvious snare in hindsight. The raid was over.

Union bit his lip and questioned his companion.

“What has been summoned in his wake……?”

“The Blade Dragon Queen.”

“That new Dragon Deity born on Earth?”

“So it appears.”

“……One would need to discover the secret to her invincibility, a secret even Isera could not uncover, to defeat her.”

The second general of the Demon King’s legions. Even Isera, who had consumed the two other Dragon Gods, failed to find a chink in the Blade Dragon Queen’s armor. If that was the case, how could the tower climbers hope to find it? It was a hopeless task unless they all combined their wisdom. Even then, he doubted a successful raid was possible. She was a Dragon God who had possessed an inherent advantage over Isera since her inception. She would be far more powerful now than she was back then. He couldn’t even begin to guess her strength.

“Union. Do you have any theory as to why the Blade Dragon Queen was the one summoned?”

Gracia asked this with a somber expression. He, too, was baffled. Baal of the Four Perils and the Blade Dragon Queen. What possible link existed between those two that they would appear in sequence?

Union slumped his shoulders, his face full of despair.

“If you want the answer, ask her yourself. Ask why on earth she chose to answer the call.”

The Blade Dragon Queen was the protector of Earth. That made her a holy entity. Only the Queen herself would know why she would respond to a summons fueled by a dark curse. Had it been a lord of the Abyss, it would make sense. But for the Blade Dragon Queen, who represented a polar opposite alignment, to be summoned was completely without precedent.

“Didn’t you claim she was unbeatable?”

“Gracia. If your curiosity is that great, then scale the tower. Perhaps she will reveal the path to you.”

The solutions were all hidden within the tower. Those who refused to climb would never unravel this mystery. Naturally, it wouldn’t be simple.

‘The challenges of other towers are bleeding into this one.’

With Baal’s passing, the very trials of the tower were in a state of flux. The difficulty had spiked dramatically. Consequently, Union had given up on the climb. Of course, even if trials from other towers were mixing in, a trial was still a trial. As long as a challenger persisted, a path would eventually open.

However, there was one glaring exception.

‘Why did the trial of that specific tower have to appear…….’

Out of everything, the trial of ‘that tower’ had been integrated. The Trial of ‘Eternity,’ a challenge that was famously impossible to overcome.

—

The former Champion, Sansha, observed the transformations within the tower and came to a resolution.

‘I will reach the summit and challenge Randolph once more!’

This was a heaven-sent chance. To duel Randolph one more time. Just like Randolph, he would ascend to the peak and, in his right as a challenger, demand a rematch to take back his title of Champion!

“Mmm……?”

Having fought his way to the 20th floor in that spirit, Sansha found himself completely bewildered by the challenge before him.

《The 10,000 ‘Skeleton Soldiers’ have been scaled to match the challenger’s level.》
《The use of all items is forbidden, excluding equipped gear.》
《All protective buffs and guardian effects have been removed.》

Rattle!
Rattle!

Ten thousand skeleton soldiers stood before him. The issue was that these were far superior to any standard undead. Confronted by a scenario he never envisioned, Sansha spoke his thoughts aloud.

“Why is this specific trial manifesting in the Tower of the War God……?”

The Mystery Tower, which scaled its difficulty to the strength of the person entering it. The trial of that legendary tower, which only the elite terrors of Kramdel dared to enter, was now blocking his path.

—

Time continued its march. It flowed on without mercy.

《48 hours have passed.》
《Subdue the ‘Tower of the War God’!》
《If 13 more days elapse, the ‘Tower of the War God’ will collapse and the curse will be set free.》
《Clearing the 20th floor will provide a clue for the ‘Phase 2’ raid.》
《Clues will become more detailed as you reach higher floors.》

System alerts were being issued constantly. The stakes were rising fast. People needed to climb the tower to find the secrets to the raid. However, since the start of Phase 2, most had abandoned the attempt.

—Didn’t they say you can’t touch a Dragon God without finding the weak point?
—What is a Mystery Tower trial doing here? Wasn’t that a Kramdel thing?
—Getting past the 20th floor is a pipe dream.
—That’s considered the peak difficulty even in the Mystery Tower. I think they called it Mythic tier…
—Seriously, how am I supposed to fight 10,000 skeletons that are the same level as me?
—I don’t care how good your gear is, 10,000 is just insane…

The Blade Dragon Queen wasn’t the only hurdle. The very fact that the ‘tower’s trials were shifting’ above the 20th floor was the real nightmare. The Mystery Tower. A level of difficulty deemed the absolute worst even among those trials, something even legendary monsters struggled to complete!

The tone on ‘Player Talk’ grew increasingly grim. Yet, the consensus remained the same.

—There’s just no way…

There truly seemed to be no solution. Three days went by, then four, and the Blade Dragon Queen’s health hadn’t dropped by even 1%. Gloom settled over the people—until a new announcement flashed on the fifth day.

《‘Park Hyunmyeong’ has cleared the 20th floor of the Tower of the War God!》