Chapter 30: The Autumn Rain Is Blood (3)

[Initiating the twelfth floor quest.]

As soon as we heard the voice, something rattled against the windows.

𝘧𝓇𝑒𝑒𝑤ℯ𝑏𝓃𝘰𝑣ℯ𝘭.𝘤ℴ𝘮

Raindrops were sliding down the audience chamber’s ornate windows. Our attention immediately turned to the panes. We weren’t surprised by the sudden rain—there was something else.

“Oh.... Ohhhh....”

“It’s the nightmare... It’s the rain of nightmares again!”

The rain—it was as red as blood. Perhaps it was actually blood. All of the NPCs in the chamber covered their ears and moaned in pain. It didn’t matter if they were military officers or civil servants.

“Dear goddess, please do not abandon us!”

“W-what? What’s wrong with them, all of a sudden...?” The Viper, exhausted from fighting the Sword Star, looked around blearily.

“It’s the Demon King...” an NPC in armor whispered. He was curled up on the floor, trembling.

The fear spread like a wildfire.

“The empire is doomed...”

“The Demon King is coming...”

“Your Majesty... Where is our emperor...?”

Not one NPC’s face showed a single trace of hope. Instead, they had resigned themselves to despair and lamented their fate just like any other humans.

The Viper swallowed nervously. “Th-this is interesting. Hey, this is all staged, right? What’s going on now?”

“It’s the beginning of the quest,” I quietly said. “It doesn’t look like we’re going to keep fighting. If it’s difficult to incite internal conflict, the next option is to attack directly.”

“Who’s going to attack us?”

“Who else could it be?” I glared through the window. “It’s the very same person who tried to make us fight each other with his ‘reward’.”

I heard laughter in my head.

[The Demon King of Autumn Rain has affirmed your statement.]

The rain got stronger. Its insistent knocking on the windowpanes grew violently. Dozens, hundreds, thousands of red drops assaulted the glass. I approached a window, but I couldn’t see a thing outside; the rain was now so strong that the entire window was covered in red.

I shattered the window with the pommel of my blade.

Red poured into the audience chamber, but I finally could see what was happening outside. The audience chamber was at the center of the palace; outside the palace was a city, which was surrounded by high walls.

[The Demon King of Autumn Rain has appeared.]

And beyond the walls was the Demon King.

—Pitiful ones,

it whispered through barely parted lips.

Yes, it was a whisper. A mere whisper reached past the outer walls and the many walls of the palace and entered the audience chamber through the shattered window.

—You summoned the humans from a different world and appointed them to lead your empire. You call them heroes, but do you really believe they’re your heroes? Can they really protect you?

The rain poured down.

—Do it. Do it as many times as you want. I say, why not? Call thousands of heroes. Summon tens of thousands of knights. They’re still humans like you. Because of your foolishness, you don’t know your end. I pity you.

The whisper slipped through the endless downpour, drifting insidiously into the audience chamber, just like it did before.

The Demon King laughed loudly, violently bouncing inside of our skulls.

“

Ah, argh...

”

The Hunters were a little better off than the NPCs. Unlike them, we were hearing the Demon King’s laughter for the first time, so it was bearable. However, it would not be the same if we had to hear it all year long.

—You people don’t see humans as people.

Red dots appeared on the mini-map, my exclusive blessing from the God of War. One, two, three... It was slow at first, but the red dots multiplied into hundreds, thousands, and tens of thousands. Before long, the world was painted red to the horizon and beyond.

—Let your malice consume you.

Lightning bolts struck the ground, turning the world pale white. The brief light revealed that all of the red dots on my mini-map were monsters. A grand army of monsters, vastly larger than what we faced on the eleventh floor, was coming.

The monsters opened their mouths and howled. The red rain dripped down the goblins’ disfigured faces. It seemed that the red rain was practically holy water for them. Like knights on a holy crusade, the monsters looked up at the sky and basked in the crimson downpour.

“...I told you.” I tightened my grip on my weapon. “This isn’t the time to fight among ourselves.”

A system window appeared in front of me.

Imperial Capital Defense

Difficulty level: A~SSS

Goal: Heroes! You have bravely fought against the Demon King’s army and protected the empire’s supply lines. Sensing a problem, the Demon King, who can summon its legion of monsters anywhere, has personally come to the empire.

The Demon King’s goal is the Imperial Capital, Arkmnia, the heart of the Aegim Empire. Fortunately, the Demon King has been weakened by manifesting at such a distance.

Stop the Demon King!

※However, the thirteenth floor will not be opened if you lose the battle.

“...The Demon King is weakened? Seriously?” the Viper mumbled after a brief silence. He said what everyone else was thinking. “This is...unfair. How are we supposed to clear this? This quest wasn’t made to be completed in the first place. Even if everything up to the tenth floor was just the tutorial...this is too much of a difficulty spike.”

“Stop. Let’s approach this calmly.” I turned and looked at the people in the audience chamber, both the Hunters and the terrified NPCs behind them. “We can do it. The Tower doesn’t give us quests we can’t clear.”

“But how are we supposed to kill that many monsters...?”

“That is why I’m telling you to stay calm.” I pointed at the NPCs. “We aren’t alone here. Did you forget about the choices you made? Mr. Viper, you’re the captain of the Imperial Guards of the Aegim Empire. So lead the Imperial Guards.

“We Hunters can’t clear the stage on our own. Treat the NPCs like actual humans. Persuade them to rise, so you can lead them to the battlefield.”

Yes, that was how the eleventh floor had been cleared.

“We can’t be fighting among ourselves. Mr. Sword Star, you’re the Imperial Knight Commander. You can’t attack the Imperial Guard Captain. There’s no way a country like that can stop a foreign attack.”

I turned to the Viper again. “Were you happy that you became the captain? You should be happy, but now that you have the privileges, you also have to carry out the duties that come with them. Whether you like it or not, you have the role of a prominent figure in the empire, so it’s time to role-play.”

I turned to the Paladin. “Ms. Foreign Minister.”

“Mmm.” The Paladin gave me her full attention.

“This is the audience chamber, but I don’t see the emperor. He should be somewhere in the palace. Please take the civil servant NPCs of your ministry and find the emperor. The NPCs won’t follow our orders without their leader.”

The Paladin nodded. “Understood.”

“Mr. Grand General.” I looked at the Inquisitor.

“Yes!” Despite the fact that he lost his right arm, the Inquisitor’s grin never went away. In fact, his eyes on me were sparkling with interest. “That’s me!”

“I hate Hunters like you. I really do. Your antics earlier convinced me that I really need to get rid of you. But you’re the Grand General. We can’t afford to lose you.”

“Hahahaha. I like you more by the minute!”

“You gave me all of your power, so shut up and listen,” I said. I watched the map. The red wave was getting closer to the capital—not much time was left. “There will be a lot of soldiers near the walls. A tsunami of monsters is coming. There’s no way that they’re in their right minds. You’re the Grand General, so get to the soldiers and rally them.”

“Hmm! Noblesse oblige, I see!”

“Please protect the walls by any means necessary. We fail this stage as soon as they’re breached.”

“Don’t worry.” The Inquisitor smiled. “I’ve never broken a promise in my life. I’ll hold the walls with my life!”

“Okay.” I looked at the crowd. “I’ll get going first.”

It was time for war.

***

While I left the palace, the remaining Hunters from the eleventh stage were being summoned.

“Whoa. Where am I?”

“I like it. We’re not at that shabby harbor at least.”

The Hunters looked around the capital streets like tourists.

“Huh? Is this acid rain? What’s up with the color...?”

“Get to cover! Come on!”

“Hey, it says for our reward we’re supposed to choose a role.”

“A role? What role?”

The newly arrived Hunters had no idea what was going on.

Well, even the High Rankers that got to the twelfth floor doubted each other enough to fight.

Three of the top ten champions were dead because they were suspicious of each other. Even the front-runners were like that, so I couldn’t expect much from the Hunters who had just arrived.

Even at this moment, the Demon King’s army was approaching.

I don’t have to persuade them right now. I’ll stop the attack first using the NPCs!

I ran down the street, ignoring the Hunters.

The streets were freaking complicated. Fortunately, I had my mini map, so I had no problem finding the shortest route to the outer walls.

Just when I got out of the street, someone showed up beside me.

“Mr. Kim.”

“Miss Black Dragon Witch?”

“Call me Black Dragon Master. I don’t like my title.”

She looked like she was using her aura in her feet to slide smoothly down the street.

“How did you get here?” I asked.

“...It’s my Skill. I can teleport to anywhere I can see.”

What an overpowered Skill!

—Hey, Zombie. Get killed by her! Her Skill is awesome! I won’t say anything this time! Die, now!

“Why didn’t you go to the walls?” I asked, ignoring the Guardian.

“I’m here to pick you up, of course,” the Black Dragon Witch nonchalantly replied. She didn’t look tired at all despite how fast she was moving. “You have a sword that works on these NPCs, don’t you? I saw it on the eleventh floor. I don’t know what sword it is, but it can boost the NPCs’ morale. The person the soldiers on the walls need to see is you, not me.”

The Black Dragon Witch looked at me.

“I need your agreement.”

“What?”

“I need your explicit agreement that you want to teleport with me. Otherwise, I can’t teleport you.”

I was a little perplexed. “Hold on. Teleportation Skills must be at least Class S. Are you sure you want to tell me the restriction? That Skill is your ace in the hole.”

“That’s a weird question.” The Black Dragon Witch wiped her forehead. The incessant downpour kept her locks plastered to her pale skin. Her black eyes bored into me. “According to you, I’m this empire’s prime minister. Isn’t it only natural for the prime minister to use all of her cards to protect her country? We don’t have much time. Any kind of agreement will work, so get on with it.”

I nodded. “I agree to be the subject of the Black Dragon Master’s Skill.”

Immediately, the Black Dragon Witch reached out with her left hand and grabbed my right. Her hand was slick from the rain so she locked her fingers with mine.

“Huh?”

“...There is one more restriction.” The Black Dragon Witch gripped my hand and whispered, “

Teleport.

”

In the blink of an eye, we arrived on the ramparts. As expected, the walls were a scene of anarchy. Despite the imminent arrival of the army of monsters, the soldiers of the empire didn’t—or maybe couldn’t—do anything. They cowered behind the walls, shivering or praying to the goddess.

“The end is near...”

“Dear goddess, take pity on us...”

“Hnngh. Hoooo...”

They were NPCs, but they behaved no differently from actual humans. Even if they looked like illusions, their fear and despair weren’t imaginary.

“Black Dragon Master, thank you for bringing me all the way over here. I’ll take it—”

The Black Dragon Witch sighed. “Hold on. I can’t leave just yet. All I’ve done so far is disgrace myself in front of the rookie.”

“Pardon?”

“I didn’t become a guild leader by sitting on my hands.” The Black Dragon Witch took a deep breath. “...Soldiers of the Aegim Empire!”

She released a black aura that was a little darker than the rain.

“Rise! What are you doing behind the walls? Do you think the stones will protect you? You’re deluding yourselves! The walls that protect us aren’t these rocks. You are the walls! The soldiers of the empire! Can’t you see?”

The curled-up soldiers, recognizing the Black Dragon Witch as their prime minister, slowly raised their heads.

“Prime minister...?”

“It’s the prime minister.”

Her remarks spread like wildfire.

The Black Dragon Witch nodded. “Rise! I command you all to stand. The walls will fall someday, and our homes might be destroyed, but as long as all of you are standing, our Aegim Empire will never fall because you are the empire!”

She looked completely different from her usual self. Every fiber of her being was charged with emotion.

“Stand up!” the Black Dragon Witch commanded.

No trace of her cold, emotionless face could be found. From atop the ramparts, she looked down at the soldiers with burning eyes. Wherever her gaze passed, the soldiers became captivated by her.

“Get on your feet, soldiers of the empire! You are Aegim’s last bastion and the bones of the empire itself! Warriors raise your weapons! It doesn’t matter whether you hold a spear or a sword! Fight until your blades shatter and your hands bleed! Rise for the empire and for yourselves!” The Black Dragon Witch tightened her grip on my right hand and held it up. “The goddess is with us!”

I realized what I had to do.

I drew the holy sword and held it high. The red rain continued to pour down, but the holy sword shone brightly nonetheless. Its white radiance illuminated the soldiers even through the torrent.

“It’s the first emperor’s sword...”

“It’s the holy sword. It’s the holy sword that the goddess bestowed on the first emperor!”

[The Goddess of Protection has expressed her gratitude for your choice.]

[The Goddess of Protection has gathered every drop of her remaining power.]

And there was light.