Chapter 123: Utopia (2)

The Immortal Happiness Preacher, whose entire body was stained with blood, bit her lower lip. She was shaking, as if she weren’t just ripples, but turbulent ocean currents. The Constellation was silent for a long time.

Her army of apostles also stopped singing. The restless battlefield finally entered a short respite

Meanwhile, the Paladin approached me. “Death King, what do you mean by punishing all evil criminals?”

The other Hunters behind the Paladin also looked at me. Their expressions ranged from puzzled, bewildered, or shocked. Their gazes, each carrying a different emotion, were on me.

“I mean it literally.” I calmly welcomed the way they looked at me. “I know that you purged many people while running the Tower. I’m sure you’re probably still doing it in secret.”

“...”

“I can’t tell you to change the way you’ve been doing that just because it’s wrong. I don’t have the confidence or the actual ability to run the Tower better than you. But if you really need to kill someone in the future, just bring them to me.”

“

Huh?

” The Inquisitor tilted his head. After only cocking his head twice, he smiled brightly once realization dawned on him. “I see! Why haven’t I thought of this until now? That’s a really good idea, Mr. Death King!”

The Black Witch frowned. “What do you mean?”

“Think about it. Mr. Death King’s ability isn’t just about summoning the people he killed. He can give them their memories back! Then, we can use him as a walking prison!”

The Inquisitor’s laughter echoed across the quiet wilderness.

“His prison doesn’t require food or resources! Suppose Mr. Death King takes in a serial killer. All it takes to keep the killer from murder forever is for the Death King to command ‘Never commit murder again!’”

The Black Witch’s eyes slowly widened, and so did those of the Countess and the Paladin. Although they were confused, they quickly calculated the benefits the Inquisitor presented.

“Use Death King’s Skill as a walking prison...”

“Yes!

Hahaha,

criminals will be quite terrified. And doesn’t it suit his title beautifully? He’s the king of death and shall incarcerate those who should die. Things can’t add up more nicely than this!”

The Countess took out a fan and tapped on her lower lip. “If I were to present my opinion as the MA leader, this is not a bad idea. As you all may know already, the crime rate in the Tower is considerably higher than in the outside world. Our prisons are chronically overcrowded, and the costs of maintaining all those prisons are prohibitive.”

The Inquisitor smiled. “You’re right. I certainly agree as the Pantheon leader!”

It was as if the Five Guild leaders were having an on-the-spot meeting.

“The purpose of prisons is to isolate criminals and prevent them from reoffending. However, no matter how excellent a correctional program is, it’s difficult to change convicts completely. As beautiful as a human heart is, it’s also complicated. But Mr. Death King can prevent them from reoffending completely!”

The Paladin hesitated. “I... I don’t know. I admit it’s efficient, but it still doesn’t sit right with me. Aren’t we putting too much of a burden on the Death King? He’s just one guy.”

“Mr. Death King is already housing two thousand martial artists from the Heavenly Demon Cult and the Righteous Faction! Maybe there’s also summons we don’t know of! If his prison already contains two thousand people, any number beyond that is meaningless.”

The Paladin took a step back. “No, I’ll abstain from voting on this one.”

The Black Witch was staring at my face with various emotions in her eyes. “Are you sure it’ll be okay?”

I sensed that she was regretting and feeling responsible for her choice of bringing me into the hidden side of Tower politics.

“It’s okay,” I said with sincerity.

I was grateful. Even though I knew about the hidden Tower politics because I wanted to, she still felt responsible for me. She was a kind and noble person. There would come a day when I got to hear her real name.

I turned my head and looked up at the Constellation. “What is your choice?”

—...

“If you want to keep fighting us, I won’t stop you, but the outcome of this fight won’t change. I’ll take control of your proud utopia.”

The Constellation broke her long silence.

—I’m not only the Goddess of Protection’s fragment, but also the Immortal Happiness Preacher with a million apostles under my command. If you take me in, all my apostles will also follow, so let me ask you—can you guarantee that you won’t use my apostles as your private soldiers and make them commit evil deeds?

“I won’t do such a thing,” I said firmly. “Even when you invaded Raviel’s world, I only summoned the Heavenly Demon Cult’s followers. Since I killed those from the Righteous Faction, I could have summoned them too, but I didn’t because that’s wrong. Those people shouldn’t follow the Young Demonic Heaven’s command.”

—...

“Whether you have a million or ten million apostles, they can live happily in this world, like they always have been.”

The Constellation in the form of a girl slowly lowered her head. When people are physically overpowered or defeated in logic, they become honest and blurt out their honest thoughts.

—Ah, Master Lefanta Aegim...

the Constellation muttered, her body gradually melting.

To meet you again...

Blood fell from the sky and pooled on the ground, slowly hardening into the shape of a sword. Since the sword had no mouth, the Constellation was unable to finish what she wanted to say. She could only wait for the Tower to deliver the rest of her sentence.

[Sacrifice awaits your choice.]

[Sacrifice says that her ability is to convert someone’s pain into the happiness of others. The nobler and purer the person suffering is, the greater the happiness will be.]

I walked toward the sword stuck in the ground and raised my holy sword to strike down the blood-stained sword.

[The Goddess of Protection is absorbing a piece of herself.]

The sword shattered.

[The Goddess of Protection’s presence has become stronger.]

At the same time, the apostles surrounding us also melted. The million children, spread beyond the horizon, collapsed. Even as they melted, they still smiled.

Swoosh—!

With their collapse, they released red water, turning the horizon scarlet in no time.

[The stage has been cleared.]

[The twenty-eight floor has been cleared today.]

The Black Witch looked down blankly at the shallow sea of blood that reached her calves. “Right. What you need to conquer a stage is information. If you know the enemy’s weaknesses, you can easily beat the stage. When we first landed in the middle of the enemies, I was searching for an escape route, but it all ended so quickly... ”

“

Huh?

Wh-what happened?” The Viper was confused. He had been minding his own business without listening to me, fighting together with the skeletons to take care of the apostles. “Why did these guys suddenly turn into red paint?

Huh?

”

The Paladin sighed. “I love how you never change, Viper...”

“... What did you just say? Are you crushing on me?”

The Inquisitor laughed.

“Hahaha.

Well, that would be fun and all, but I don’t think so. The Watchmen League’s assistant leader has already been dating someone for a long time!”

The Viper opened his one eye wide. “What? Really? Who is it?”

“I’m afraid I don’t have the liberty to answer that. Find out for yourself!”

No one answered the Viper’s question. It seemed it was an open secret that everyone else knew. I was also curious, so I was tempted to open one of their character windows, but I held myself back because that would be too much of an invasion of privacy.

The Countess came up and playfully slapped me on the back. “Hey, hey. That was absolutely amazing! We finished so quickly! I was prepared to pour money into this bottomless pit for at least a day! You’re indeed the Death King! You remember the first person who had an eye on you since you were a rookie, right?”

The Countess was happy that we safely ended the ambush. I didn’t want to throw a wet blanket over her happiness, but I had no intention of taking a break here. From the beginning, this stage was just a stepping stone.

“I’m sorry, Miss Countess, but we aren’t done.”

“

Hmm?

What do you mean? We received the notification that the twenty-eight floor has been cleared.”

I nodded. “Yes, we cleared the twenty-eighth floor, but I’m going to make it to the thirtieth floor today.”

The Black Witch had been blankly looking at the sea of blood. The Viper kept clinging to the Paladin asking who on earth she was dating, and the Inquisitor had been contemplating his future moves. However, all of them now turned to me.

The Black Witch was surprised. “Today? Really?”

She wasn’t doubting my abilities. She was just worried about me.

“Death King—no, Gong-Ja, you’re pushing yourself too hard these days. You haven’t had a single day off since you headed to the

Story of Sormwin Academy!”

Well, it would certainly look that way to the Black Witch. Raviel and I had wreaked all sorts of havoc for fun, but only the two of us knew that. From other people’s perspectives, I really had been working non-stop.

“You should take some time off, even if it’s only for a short period. Like any other beings, people are worn out by stress. If you don’t carefully plan out your work hours and balance them with your breaks, you’ll just collapse one day. I mean it. You may not know this because you’re still young...”

I smiled. How someone could genuinely worry about others was very beautiful.

“You’re right. I’ve been overdoing it a bit.”

“Right? So, let’s take a break from clearing the stages for a while... ... .”

“So, I’ll rest after I clear the thirtieth floor today.”

The Black Witch pressed a palm on her forehead. “You’re not listening to me at all! Get some rest! Please!”

“Black Dragon Master, the population of the Tower is increasing by a hundred thousand per day,” I said. “Even if ninety nine out of one hundred people who entered the Tower are good people, it’s bound that at least one newcomer is a criminal. That means that the number of criminals in the Tower is increasing by one thousand every day.”

“...”

Calmly, I added, “Ten criminals together can form a gang. One hundred thousand can form a mafia family. When one thousand people come together, a warlord is born. A new warlord is showing up in the Tower every day, so we can’t just focus on conquering the apocalyptic books forever.

“We need to finish this as soon as possible and return to running the Tower. This is the right choice for us, the original residents, and the new people arriving at the Tower.”

The Black Witch bit her lower lip. “If you... If you put it like that, then there’s nothing I can say to convince you otherwise...”

“Don’t worry.” I grinned and held out my fist to the Black Witch. “When I rest, I’m going to do it like there is no tomorrow. I don’t think anyone will take a break better than I do. When you see me taking a break with Raviel, you’ll be surprised, Black Dragon Master.”

“I don’t really want to watch newlyweds acting all lovey-dovey...”

“If it bothers you too much, please help me choose a ring later. It’s for Raviel, and I’m not very good at that.”

The Black Witch sighed for a long time, still pressing a palm on her forehead. “Yeah... You better give her the prettiest ring in the world. Seriously, how did I end up coaching a kid like you from A to Z...”

“And I’m always grateful for it.”

“Forget it. When it comes to gratitude, I don’t want to hear it. Let’s stop talking about this. It’s embarrassing to do it in front of people. I knew this since I saw you dating in Sormwin, but you really don’t know what embarrassment is, don’t you...?” she grumbled, but she didn’t refute my plan any further.

She and the other Five Guild leaders also knew that it was dangerous if they didn’t return to managing the Tower soon. They were not only Hunters but also the top management of the Tower. It was time they wrapped up their days at the library.

“Send me back.”

Whoosh!

We each returned to the library a moment apart.

The Hunters were gathered in the library. They would have watched the live broadcast of the six of us easily overpowering a million apostles, witnessing the overwhelming difference in power between us and them. Perhaps that was why the Hunters just watched us from a distance. The authority of the High Rankers was rock solid now.

Good, good,

I thought.

This was the outcome I had been hoping for. As a united team, we proved our Hunter Rankings through sheer skill, not political power. The Hunters wouldn’t be hasty in causing trouble, at least for the time being.

There was one more person watching us—the owner of the great library, the Indoor Librarian. He looked at us with his chin resting on his palm.

“Welcome back and congratulations! I thought it would take a little longer to clear this stage, but the synergy you created together easily exceeded my expectations. I had no idea that you would quickly take over a world where a Constellation was still ruling.”

Despite congratulating us, the Indoor Librarian was expressionless.

I figured he would react this way.

The Indoor Librarian loved stories. What he loved in stories were the characters’ hardships, adversities, unexpected difficulties, and innovative solutions. Overwhelming victory or defeat wasn’t to his tastes.

I knew how to make him do what I wanted.

Show me the character window.

A system window appeared before my eyes.

Name: Indoor Librarian

Affection: 98

Liked genres: Fusion fantasy, romance, mystery, adventure, horror, history, war, sports, SF, mythology, fairy tale...

Disliked genres: None

Liked characters: Characters, the Constellation Murderer, the Death King

Disliked characters: None

Liked plot: Completed stories

Disliked plot: Discontinued serialization

State of Mind:

Well, the Demonic Heaven Arts is indeed the worst match for the Immortal Happiness Preacher. I guess she was unlucky. Tsk tsk. Fool. If she had predicted her disadvantage and asked for reinforcements from other Constellations, she would have put up a better fight than that.

I nodded.

It’s there.

My name was added to the list of the Indoor Librarian’s preferred characters, next to the Constellation Murderer. As the Librarian himself had stated, the Constellation Murderer was the character he loved the most. The fact that my name was registered alongside someone like that meant that I too reached a position comparable to that of the Constellation Murderer.

“Mr. Librarian.”

He smiled, his sleeves fluttering. “Well, what apocalyptic book would you like to choose next? If you wish, I can give you my recommendation. The fairy tale was cleared so quickly, so what about going for a myth this time? It’s grand and dangerous, but outrageously good rewards also await. Or...”

“The character you love the most is Lefanta Aegim.” I interrupted him. “How am I compared to him?”

The Librarian stroked his chin.

“Hmm?

Of course... It would be a shame to rank you two in any way. You and the Constellation Murderer have completely opposite characters! What can I say,

um...

The Constellation Murderer is a man who seems to be carrying all the misfortunes of the universe... On the other hand, Mr. Death King, you’re a bit like chocolate ice cream! You look gloomy and taste bitter, but you’re actually really sweet!”

I decided not to dwell on whether the analogy was appropriate or not. I said, “I have decided on our next apocalyptic book.”

“What is it?”

“

The Epic of Lefanta Aegim

.”

The Indoor Librarian paused.

“After clearing the

Heavenly Demon Chronicle,

we went to the snowy mountain by ourselves. You showed it to me.”

At that time, the Indoor Librarian had said in front of the huge dragon corpse that his dream was to be killed by Lefanta Aegim. That was when he showed me a worn leather book that had been read dozens or hundreds of times, indicating how precious it was to him.

The Indoor Librarian was still probably carrying around

The Epic of Lefanta Aegim

in secret.

The corners of the Indoor Librarian’s mouth lifted in a small smile. “Mr. Death King... ?”

“Yes?”

“I know that you consider the Constellation Murderer to be your enemy, but

The Epic of Lefanta Aegim

isn’t an apocalyptic book... I can only introduce you all to apocalyptic books, which contain worlds that ended after their serialization was unfortunately discontinued. ” The corners of his mouth trembled faintly.

“The Epic of Lefanta Aegim

is a story that is still being serialized. I should never intervene in it. I can’t grant your...”

“But...” I stared at him. “...you want to see it, don’t you?”

“...”

“You told me that the Constellation Murderer is the best character you’ve met, and I’m comparable to him.”

The owner of the Great Library of All Life was the Constellation who loved stories more than anyone else. That was why I knew he could never resist my offer.

“Don’t you want to see your favorite characters on the same page?”

The genre of the next stage I chose was a crossover.