Chapter 182: Forty-Eighth Floor, Escalating Conflicts (2)

The chubby angel halted at the terrace entrance. The layered folds on his neck rippled from his sudden stop. Turning slightly, he gestured with his arm, signaling me to follow.

I gave a small nod. “All right.”

We didn’t converse further. Under normal circumstances, there would have been a brief greeting or some pleasantries. Given the situation, however, neither of us seemed inclined to bother.

I fell in step behind him.

With marble-like flooring, ceramic pieces, and elegant tapestries, the corridor we entered exuded luxury. Before I could finish admiring the items on display, murmurs began to echo through the hall, growing louder with each step.

“So, what’s the—”

“What I’m saying is... we need to...”

We were clearly nearing the meeting room. At the end of the hallway, a heavy wooden door stood slightly ajar.

My guide entered, so I followed closely behind. As soon as we stepped inside, the murmuring intensified.

The large conference hall was filled with angels trying to speak over one another. One stood out in particular, a rather official-looking angel who was situated behind a podium. Based on his irritated and impatient expression, I assumed the noise grated on him.

He shot a brief glance in our direction before forcibly bringing down his gavel.

Bang! Bang!

“Order!”

The room fell silent in an instant. Over fifty pairs of eyes turned toward the speaker.

Does each angel represent one city?

There were more than I would have expected, hinting at a greater number of cities than were known to the climbers.

The angel at the podium swept the room with a measured gaze, calm but authoritative.

“The representative of the outsiders has arrived. Let us now commence the council of city lords. Please, take your seats.”

The angels, who had resumed murmuring, began moving without protest.

Judging by how readily they obeyed, the angel at the podium likely held significant authority. Perhaps he was the lord of the city I currently found myself in.

As footsteps echoed throughout the hall, I found myself standing alone near the front, uncertain of where I was supposed to sit.

I hoped there would be an obvious seat for me.

However, it became apparent that the others were moving toward assigned spots.

The angel who had guided me had already found his place without so much as glancing back. If he was going to lead me here, he could have at least finished the job.

I looked toward the angel at the podium. He seemed to notice my gaze and tilted his head. “My apologies. Your seat is at the far-left corner of the back row.”

“Okay.”

I shifted my gaze toward the back and began walking.

Most of the lords were already seated, and my designated spot was tucked into the farthest corner, right next to the least imposing figures in the room.

Curious glances followed my steps as if I were some rare creature on display.

Is this how outsiders are treated?

I partially understood their reactions. An outsider participating in a council meeting reserved for only the most powerful angels would seem odd. From their perspective, it would have been like a foreign delegate suddenly appearing at a national assembly.

They probably didn’t even know why I was here. All they knew would be whatever the tower had informed them.

Settling into my seat, I reminded myself of my real purpose.

I am not here to change their minds.

Even if I said something, they would likely pay little attention to my words. In fact, sitting in the back would only work in my favor as this vantage point made it easier to observe the room.

After all, I only had one goal: find the liar.

As soon as I sat down, the angel at the podium declared, “You are all aware of the current situation. Every city has come under attack by the corrupted angels.”

Adjusting his glasses, he paused briefly to clear his throat before continuing. “Four mid-tier cities and eight high-tier cities have fallen. What’s most alarming is that there wasn’t a single survivor of the eight high-tier cities. With no evidence left behind, we have no explanation for their complete annihilation...”

The council officially began with the speaker summarizing the events of the forty-seventh floor.

I stared at the angels with a dull gaze, and memories of a previous floor began to surface.

I would love to interrupt and then flip the table, just like I did during the meeting of the lords and the elven council leader.

Sadly, that wasn’t an option here. With fifty-three city lords present and only eight uses of the lie detector left, forcibly testing everyone simply wasn’t feasible.

Besides, after learning that this world was a virtual reality, I had begun to form another theory.

The liar may not even be an angel, but a servant of the god who imprisoned them.

Such a being wouldn’t be bound by conventional rules. They could probably manipulate the simulation, logging in and out at will, just like players in a game.

Thinking back to the earlier incident with the suspected liar only made that theory feel more plausible.

If I pushed too hard, the liar could just “log out,” and all my efforts would go to waste. That meant I would have to rely on instinct and snap judgment to expose them.

My eyes swept over the room again, and I tuned into the debates unfolding between the lords.

“We need to strike now!”

“No! We still don’t understand what caused the high-tier cities to fall. The enemy clearly has something we’re unaware of!”

“So you’re suggesting we just sit here and wait?”

“Finding out what we’re dealing with is more important!”

“And how exactly do you propose we do that?”

The arguments quickly escalated, both sides growing more and more agitated.

I understood where they were coming from. The angels and corrupted angels were perceived as an entirely different species. No one knew how the corrupted came to exist, but they were widely regarded as lesser beings.

The hardliners wanted immediate retaliation, furious at being attacked by what they saw as inferior creatures.

On the other hand, the moderates saw the fall of the high-tier cities as a warning. They regarded it as evidence that something far more dangerous was at play.

Hmm...

As the debates dragged on, I kept observing the lords and searched for signs of deception.

Is the liar outside, setting up a bomb? No, that doesn’t make sense.

The bombs were already in place. The liar had to be inside, waiting for the right moment to act. There was still plenty of time.

I shifted my focus back to the arguments unfolding in front of me. Despite scanning each face carefully, none of them looked familiar.

The debate only grew more heated as time went on. Then, suddenly, a lord seated toward the front rose and shouted.

“That’s enough! Tarkal will handle the corrupted angels on its own! The portals have already been deactivated, so what’s the point of sitting here and talking?”

This was the same angel who had led me in earlier. His declaration brought the room to a hush.

A few lords nodded in agreement.

“Now that you mention it, Tarkal’s lord has a point. If the fallen angels can disable portals, this meeting won’t accomplish anything.”

“I agree. If the portals are down, we’ll have no choice but to defend our cities on our own."

“I disagree, but I still plan to return to my city. I refuse to let my citizens’ lives be carelessly thrown away because of lords who only know how to charge blindly into battle."

Several angels rose from their seats, prompting the angel at the podium to slam his gavel forcefully.

Thud, thud, thud!

“Sit down!" Glaring sternly, his gaze pierced those who had stood up. “In these dire times, how dare you consider abandoning your cities just to survive? Eight high-tier cities have vanished without a trace! Do any of you possess the power to annihilate a high-tier city and leave no survivors?"

He banged the gavel once more, and I could tell he was frustrated by the way he had done it. “The corrupted angels have some hidden advantage that we’re unaware of!"

His heated outcry swept through the hall, stirring tension.

After a brief silence, the stout lord remarked, “So, what exactly are you proposing?"

“The corrupted angels may have retreated for now, but the annihilated cities and the fact that they attacked every other city prove that they will return."

“And what is it you’re suggesting we do?"

The gavel-bearer roared in response, “We need to unify our forces!"

He struck the podium again before adding, “Trying to defend all of our cities independently will lead to our downfall. We need to gather every angel in one place. This city is the ideal location since it’s the largest. Using this city as our base of operations, we’ll prepare for war against the corrupted angels."

“Then what happens to our cities?"

“I already told you! We’ll all die if we try to defend them all. This city may end up cramped with all the angels, but we can make do for now. If needed, we can even set up refugee zones outside the walls."

As he spoke, the lord’s eyes suddenly widened as though struck by an idea. “In fact, we should take this chance to wipe out the corrupted angels completely. That way, we won’t have to worry about them ever again."

After several more exchanges, the angels seemed surprisingly receptive to the plan.

“Well, rebuilding the cities is always an option. So, should we summon everyone here first?"

“We can’t just summon everyone without some organization. That would cause too much confusion. Since we have some time before their next attack, we should summon the soldiers first and call the civilians later."

“Why prioritize the soldiers?"

“Because we’ll need to set up camps outside the city. It makes sense to have soldiers handle that task."

At that moment, an unsettling thought crossed my mind.

There was a bomb in this city, and based on the timeline, it was likely to go off after the soldiers arrived. That would explain why this floor ended in disaster during Ha Hee-Jeong’s previous life. With the lords and soldiers wiped out, the civilians and climbers wouldn’t have had a solid chance to organize.

Does that mean the angel who suggested summoning the soldiers is the liar?

No. Something felt off. My instincts told me otherwise. I needed to trace this discussion back to its origins.

The detailed plan had come from the angel at the podium, but the conversation had started when the stout angel angrily declared he was leaving.

Was it just simply an impulsive outburst? Or was there a deeper motive behind his sudden decision to return to his city?

I quietly pulled out the Lie Detector.

There were three main suspects—the stout angel, the angel at the podium, and the one who had advocated to bring the soldiers first.

I waited patiently, letting the angels continue speaking, and whenever one of my suspects spoke up again, I would activate the Lie Detector.

“It doesn’t matter whether we call the soldiers or civilians first. What’s important is that we rally everyone and annihilate the corrupted angels!"

True. The gavel-bearer was in the clear.

That left two suspects.

The stout angel finally opened his mouth. “Honestly, I’m not too keen on pulling my soldiers out of my city to bring them here."

I shifted my gaze to the die.

False.

This was it. He was the liar.

“But well, I suppose eradicating the corrupted angels isn’t a bad idea. At least we’ll get revenge."

I activated Flash Strike. Time slowed to a crawl. I shoved back my chair and leaped to my feet, vaulting over desks and darting through the stunned crowd.

The angels’ heads blurred past me as Ghost Step and Wind's Route propelled me forward. Not a single angel reacted in time.

I closed the eight-meter gap in an instant, seizing the stout angel by the throat as I deactivated Flash Strike.

“What—what is this?!"

“Outsider! What do you think you’re doing?!"

Cries of alarm erupted around me, but I paid them no mind.

Locking eyes with the stout angel, I declared, “You. It’s you, isn’t it?"

His eyes curved into a crescent as he smiled.

What?

I had expected shock or panic, not this. The unexpected reaction caught me off guard. Then, a notification appeared before me.

[Challenger Kwon Su-Hyeok has discovered the hidden mission ‘Truth in Lies, Lies in Truth.’]

Darkness suddenly enveloped my vision.

***

「Invisible message: Challenger Kwon Su-Hyeok has identified Bruche, the apostle of the second-class god ‘Burning Truth.’」

「Invisible message: The hidden mission ‘Truth in Lies, Lies in Truth’ will now commence.」

「Invisible message: The Prison of Truth, a virtual reality simulation, is shutting down. Challenger Kwon Su-Hyeok has signed out.」