Chapter 371: Eighty-Fifth Floor, The Corpse of the Dead God (5)

Right in front of the tsunami of lava that dyed the world in red, a brilliant burst of blue-gold light exploded across the horizon. The radiance extended outward in two sweeping streams from Kwon Su-Hyeok, directed toward the capital city.

Fwaaaash—

An indescribable wave passed through the crowd, followed by a surge of wind pressure. Remtal instinctively shut his eyes against it.

When he opened them again, the two streams of divine light had formed a wedge-shaped barrier, emanating from Kwon Su-Hyeok at the center.

“W-what in the world is this?”

Remtal couldn’t form a single coherent thought. Even as he witnessed it with his own eyes, his mind refused to accept it as real.

The sheer absurdity of the scene brought his entire consciousness to a stop. All he could manage was the faint, automatic cognition of visual input filtering through his optic nerves.

The presence of the blue-gold barrier didn’t mean his vision was completely blocked. Through the translucent veil of light, the onrushing tsunami of molten lava remained starkly visible.

However, Remtal didn’t feel even a flicker of fear. He merely sensed that something about that was weird.

𝘧𝓇𝑒𝑒𝑤ℯ𝑏𝓃𝘰𝑣ℯ𝘭.𝘤ℴ𝘮

Ruuuummmble—

The ground trembled beneath the oncoming tsunami of lava, and the eerie roar of the massive molten wave followed in its wake.

At some point, the towering crest of the lava tsunami rose high into the sky and began to slowly bend inward. The wave slammed into the barrier of light.

Thump!

The heavy impact came first. Remtal felt as if the barrier had wavered.

In reality, that was only in his imagination.

Shraaash—!

As the lava tsunami struck the edge of the wedge-shaped barrier, it began to split apart and crashed to either side. Beyond the semi-transparent curtain of light, the world turned crimson, flooded by molten lava.

Thud!

Even with the barrier in place, the shock of the tsunami sweeping across the ground did not vanish.

“

Aaagh!

”

“Hold on tight!”

People screamed atop the trembling ground. Remtal hunched his upper body and shifted his weight, barely managing to grab hold of the city wall.

It had to have lasted only an instant. By the time he lifted his head again, the lava tsunami had already swept past the capital city.

In the blink of an eye, the molten tide had surged up along the ridgeline of the Chusain Volcano.

The roar of lava echoed from all directions, but the city was deathly quiet. Everyone stood frozen. They were too stunned by what had just occurred to say a word. Only the sound of the wave sweeping away the earth rang out.

Those who had lost the power of speech silently stared at the lava flowing away on either side.

Swooooosh—

Amid the unending torrents of surging lava, it felt as if the passage of time had been erased.

The people who had been saved at the very brink of death couldn’t begin to collect themselves.

The massive barrier of light, unlike anything they had seen in their lifetimes, continued to radiate its divine glow.

To Remtal, it felt like a dream. He had no sense of how much time had passed. He simply stared blankly at the retreating lava.

At some point, he became aware that the sound of the waves had stopped. When he came to his senses, he realized that the lava was receding. It wasn’t leaving quite as quickly as it had arrived, but it wasn’t slow either.

The lava that had once filled both sides continued to subside steadily.

Once it had receded enough to reenter the capital city again safely, the barrier of light vanished as if washed away.

Then, someone shattered the silence.

“We-we’re alive!”

That was the spark.

“We survived! We’re alive!”

“

Waaaaaah—!

”

“We survived!”

The citizens, who had narrowly escaped death in the face of overwhelming catastrophe, erupted into cries too raw to fully comprehend. It was a chaotic blend of curses and shouts, as if every dialect had been unleashed at once.

Regardless of what was said, the deafening roar of voices soon swept through the city and echoed all the way to the base of the volcano.

When the first wave of explosive cheering passed, people began talking about the barrier of light.

“W-what was that, earlier?”

“What do you think?! It was a god! The god of Chusain Volcano’s lava has returned!”

“A god? What are you even saying?”

“Didn’t someone at the Sea of Lava Countermeasure Headquarters say there was a mage on-site?”

“A mage? You think a mage could stop a tsunami that massive?”

Amid the confusion, Remtal lifted his gaze to the distant sky, toward the place where Kwon Su-Hyeok had stood.

There was no one there now. Where the blue-gold light had once shone brightly, only an ashen sky remained. Sparks floated through the air.

Remtal instinctively knew that Kwon Su-Hyeok was gone. He closed his eyes tightly and offered up a silent prayer.

Oh, Divine One... Thank you so much.

From the moment Remtal saw the barrier of light, he was certain Kwon Su-Hyeok was a god. Whether he was the lava god himself, his son, or a new god from elsewhere, it didn’t matter. What mattered was that he had saved them.

He glanced back at the people now engaged in a heated debate.

Please forgive those who still doubt.

He couldn’t blame them for not believing, even after seeing it with their own eyes. He couldn’t believe it at first, either.

Today marked a sacred revelation. It was an indescribably divine miracle, where a god had descended to the mortal world. He was determined to report this to the king and establish a religious order so that the world would not forget the divine, as it once had.

Looking once more at the spot where Kwon Su-Hyeok had disappeared, Remtal bowed deeply with full reverence.

***

The Community on Earth, during the events on the eighty-fifth floor.

[Was that lava tsunami for real???]

[How does one even stop that?]

[F’real, he may be totally screwed.]

[Why stop it? Isn’t it over once the trench opens?]

[Nope, that’s just a theory, it may not even be true]

[Oh, people have been doing a lot of rescue missions lately]

[Besides, Su-Hyeok’s build is attack-focused, so stopping a tsunami would be hard for him]

[Ugh. You clueless idiots, just believe. Do you know who that is? King Su-Hyeok.]

[Excuse you, it’s God Su-Hyeok.]

[Yeah, no doubt.]

[No doubts.]

[No doubts no doubts no doubts 🙏]

[No, but f’real, I’m a Su-Hyeok stan too, but how the hell do you stop that tsunami]

[Wait...]

[What is that?]

[Holy sh*t]

[Wow sbkkkkkkkkkkkkk...]

[What is that? Did he just make a wall of light using mana?]

[Wtf, this actually worked.]

[Everyone who doubted, smash your heads into the ground.]

[I’m sorry I’m sorry I’m sorry I’m sorry I’m sorry I’m sorry I’m sorry]

[Is this... Light Su-Hyeok? 🔆]

***

[Congratulations. Challenger Kwon Su-Hyeok has conquered the eighty-fifth floor of the Tower of Ordeal: The Resentment of the Dead God. He will now enter the waiting room.]

[47 hours 59 minutes until the rest period ends. Please take a rest.]

As soon as I stepped into the waiting room, Doppy greeted me with a beaming smile, “Su-Yeok! You’re back!”

Considering I had spent several days in the trial, he probably felt a little lonely.

I raised a hand in response and returned his greeting with a light wave. “Yeah. You've been all right?”

“You were gone so long. I thought something had happened!”

“

Phew.

Well, something did happen. I’m absolutely exhausted.”

I meant that literally; lifting even a finger felt like too much. Therefore, I collapsed right where I stood and sprawled across the floor of the waiting room.

While the waiting room possessed restorative effects, they applied only to one’s physical state and mana. Divinity was a different matter.

I had burned through all of mine—along with my mana—holding back that tsunami of lava.

Doppy stood from his seat, a worried look on his face. “Was it that bad? Do you need a buff?”

Still lying on my back, I gave a slight shake of my head. “No, I’m fine. Just sit. I need a moment to think.”

“Okay!”

After brushing off his offer, I took a moment to reflect on the trial. Doppy waited quietly by my side.

Hmm.

Thankfully, the trial had ended the moment the lava began to recede.

I had been worried that I would be interrupted partway through my defense of the city. After all, the tower had outlined my task clearly from the outset: identify the problem and resolve it.

Once I had broken through the rubble blocking the trench, I had technically completed the floor. It wouldn’t have been surprising for the tower to teleport me out of there at any point after that.

Seems like it is following the same pattern as the other floors.

The higher I climbed, the more the trials involved saving others, rewarding me with divinity. Sometimes it was to a fairly overt degree.

This trial had been no different.

Considering the tower had pulled me out the instant I fully neutralized the tsunami, acquiring divinity had been a secret requirement.

Not that I am complaining.

I had expended a considerable amount of energy, but had received equally substantial rewards in return. My recovery rate of divinity had noticeably improved.

Once I fully replenished it, I had little doubt my total capacity would be greater as well.

That said, something felt slightly off. Increases in divinity didn’t seem to correlate with the number of people I saved. Sometimes, I had rescued only a few and still received far more.

Maybe it includes divinity earned from other worlds. Or perhaps it varies based on the depth of their faith.

In the end, it didn’t really matter. Whatever the reason, it worked in my favor.

I was more intrigued by the god’s horn I had obtained. Nearly two meters in length, the horn formed the shape of a spear. It wasn’t a proper weapon, but it could certainly be wielded like one.

Spears definitely weren’t my expertise, but this one would work fairly well as a concealed blade in a critical moment.

“If you give it your all, you can overcome anything.”

Perhaps Natalie’s earlier comment had been referring to this trial.

If my opponent turns out to be another god or a high-ranking apostle, the horn should prove effective.

I would have to ask her about it later.

Anyway, I had cleared quite a few floors since The Meticulous Architect had shown me the future. The probability of the next floor being the one only grew.

Just the thought caused a tight feeling to appear in my chest.

I can’t afford to lie around like this.

Even though I hadn’t fought an opponent, I had expended a tremendous amount of mana and divinity. There was still a wound on my palm as well. I needed to wash off quickly and head to the training spring.

As I rose to my feet and slipped off my gauntlet, Doppy started with a gasp. “Su-Yeok! What happened to your hand!?”

“

Hm?

Oh, it’s just a minor injury.”

“You didn’t fight a god or an apostle, did you?” he asked with genuine concern.

Judging by how quickly he had reacted, he had sensed the divine energy still lingering in the wound.

I shook my head. “No, nothing like that. I touched the corpse of a fallen god.”

“The corpse of a god?”

“Yeah. Why? Do you know anything about it?” I asked on the off-chance he had any relevant information. Who knew if there were other ways to make use of it?

Doppy’s expression turned unusually serious. “That wound was caused by divine repulsion! It won’t heal easily!”

“Yeah?” I already knew that much. “Do you know anything else?”

“

Uh

, n-not really.”

I let out a faint chuckle and added, “So even your divine healing spells don’t work well on this?”

“They do, but its effect will be reduced. Do you want me to try healing it?”

I shook my head again. “No need. I should work on raising my recovery rate anyway.”

To be honest, it would have been strange if Doppy did know much about divine corpses.

I steered the conversation in another direction. “You didn’t slack off while I was gone, right?”

“Of course not! I trained hard! Ryun saw everything!”

Ryun, who had been silently standing nearby, declared in his usual slow and deliberate tone, “That’s right... we... trained... very hard...”

“I’m only teasing you. I can tell. Even just watching, it’s obvious.”

I meant it. Perhaps it was due to how much I had grown, but even minor shifts in movement were beginning to stand out to me.

Stretching slightly, I turned toward the bath. “Rest a bit more. I’m going to rinse off, soak in the spring, and then we’ll train.”

“Got it! I’ll head over and start warming up!”

“

Huh?

You don’t have to rush. Take your time.”

“No, I was planning to train on my own for a bit anyway!”

“Yeah? Then go ahead.” I reached out and gave Doppy a light pat on the head.

After a quick rinse, I stepped into the training spring. I had intended to recover for a short while and then begin training, but that plan was cut short.

A message came through from Ha Hee-Jeong, and it was brimming with concern.