Chapter 307: The Reunion (3)

I repeated what the Guardian had said. “He says he’s sorry for returning so late.”

The elder’s breathing slowed, even stopped for a moment. She sighed.

I couldn’t see her expression. The brim of her conical hat was wide, and the shadow underneath was deep. Her bangs hid her eyes, so I couldn’t see her gaze. All I could hear was the sound of her mocking laughter as she gritted her teeth.

“

Ha.

”

It sounded like flesh being ground between millstones. Her life was being ground into pieces by her own teeth. All that remained was a trail of mockery, scattered around her.

“Even if he apologizes... What’s the point now? It’s ridiculous.”

[The quest is in progress.]

[The Incarnation of Love and Lust nods.]

[The Incarnation of Love and Lust acknowledges your quest progress.]

“Don’t you dare say it’s my fault. Even though I’ve lived for over a thousand years, it’s been a hundred and fifty since he disappeared. A hundred and fifty years. That’s way too long. Can you imagine spending one hundred fifty years trying to clear a single floor?”

[The quest is in progress.]

“That’s too long, you idiot.”

[The Incarnation of Love and Lust declares quest completion.]

“That’s too... long.”

[The quest has been cleared.]

[The quest you temporarily joined has ended.]

[All the followers of the Incarnation of Love and Lust who participated in this quest are now eligible to advance to the next floor.]

Before I knew it, the elder gripped my collar. She was a god-slayer, a witch who had driven stakes into six Constellations, and the master of all Spiders. Despite all these titles, she was still human.

“So... you’re the Sword Emperor’s heir.”

—Yes.

“You wouldn’t have chosen just anyone as your heir. Your legendary, traditional sect only allows you to raise one heir. Though I never cared, you always boasted about it.”

—Of course.

“If your disciple fails, you probably won’t be able to reach the hundredth floor either.”

—Unfortunately, that’s very likely.

Behind the elder, the Guardian stood silently with her arms crossed. The two of them used my words as a precarious bridge to talk to each other.

“If you took him as a disciple just because he can use a little aura, I’ll kill him.”

—Surprisingly, you’re free to do so.

The elder let go of my collar. After taking a couple of steps back, her bangs swayed, finally revealing her expression. “Grab your sword. A god doesn’t decide who is qualified to go up to the fifty-first floor. The Constellations can go to hell. Quests? Fuck that. Tell them to go fuck themselves.”

The elder stared straight at me and pointed her staff in my direction.

“I’ll test you, Sword Emperor’s heir. If you’re too weak to reach the ninety-ninth floor, then give up now. You would have experienced what it felt like being a god before you arrived here and enjoyed all kinds of luxuries when commanding a species that knew nothing. If that’s the case, then at least kneel before me and show me that you are nothing but a mere human. Admit to your species that you’ve been lying all this time. Even if you don’t have the strength to climb a hundred floors, you can free your people from the oppression of nonsense. I’ll see if you have the qualifications.”

I glanced at the Guardian, who showed no reaction.

I see.

I said, “I don’t believe a Constellation is a god. They’re just beings that can do a little more than others. Calling them dragons makes no difference either. Lady Gray Spider, whether it’s the Hunters who once persecuted you or you who now rule them, these two aren’t different to me. But that’s just my opinion.”

I took off my scabbard from my belt and let it fall.

[The Goddess of Protection remains silent.]

The holy sword clattered to the ground. The Goddess of Protection, Hwia, had once led the Constellation Murderer to this world and had been torn apart until I reunited her and helped her regain her full power. She now silently accepted her fall.

I took a stance without a sword. Like the Gray Spider, I was also human. “I enjoy fighting about my opponent’s principles. That’s how I can crush them completely.”

I clenched my right fist. “Come at me. I’ll destroy you without borrowing a shred of the Constellations’ power.”

I gestured with my left hand, beckoning her to come closer. It was a cheap provocation. Seeing this, the elder, who had only ever offered a flesh-tearing sneer, finally burst into a hollow laughter as she took off her hat.

“I see. I don’t know much, but I’m certain that the Sword Emperor chose you as his heir for your screwed-up personality.”

The black, conical hat fell to the ground.

“I use magic because I can kill more people faster. If I were to beat each of them with my fists, it would have taken forever to exterminate the five species and slaughter the gods. I simply chose efficiency.”

Her staff, her thick robe, and finally her black hairpin which had been holding her hair shattered in her hand. Her gray hair draped down to the ground.

“That doesn’t mean I didn’t learn how to fistfight, you brat. You don’t know this, but I’m a genius of geniuses.”

“

Hmm.

This doesn’t really have anything to do with the current situation, but I can’t help but describe you as full of yourself. That’s how the Sword Emperor is, but, for some reason, seeing you in action reminds me of this particular trait of his. Why is that? Maybe it’s because the two of you are meant for each other.”

𝐟𝐫𝕖𝗲𝘄𝚎𝗯𝕟𝐨𝕧𝐞𝚕.𝕔𝕠𝐦

“Do you have wisdom teeth?” the elder asked.

“Huh?”

“Do you have wisdom teeth?”

“Yes?”

“Good.” The elder bowed and assumed a stance. “When you lose your molars, use your wisdom teeth, you rascal.”

She vanished.

***

The shock came before the sound. My skull shook. A deafening roar echoed inside my head instead of my ears, with the pain emerging only afterward. I finally realized the Gray Spider had struck my right cheek with her fist. She was smiling.

“Wow,” I murmured, using my aura to slow down time. “Are you really the Sword Emperor’s girlfriend? Your punch is—”

“Tooth number twenty-six, the first maxillary molar,” the Gray Spider muttered.

A sharp pain erupted in my left cheek.

“Tooth number forty-five. A premolar.

Uh-oh.

Now what? You already lost two teeth.”

Something flashed before my eyes. Looking closely, they were blood-stained teeth. The elder had caught them and deliberately rolled them in her palm, showing them to me.

“If two more fall out, all your wisdom teeth will also fall out, you know.

Oh

, I haven’t asked your age yet. Do you only have baby teeth? When you get older, you’ll get permanent teeth, so take good care of them.”

I smiled. “Okay. I’m fine with this kind of stuff.”

I stretched out my arm like a snake and grabbed the elder’s wrist. As a feint, I squeezed it hard, as if I was going to twist it. The elder resisted with all her strength to avoid being pulled along, but that was exactly what I wanted her to do. I released my grip, and I shot forward like a rubber band.

Thump!

I slammed into her face with my forehead, like a hammer to a nail, feeling a squishy sensation on my forehead. Blood spurted in the air.

“You...son of a bitch...”

It was unfortunate but inevitable. Like me, the elder had been strengthening her entire body with aura. However, when a hard forehead collided with a hard nose, it was obvious which would break first.

I extended my fist. “You shouldn’t be bleeding like a child, Elder. That’s undignifying, considering your age.”

“I’ll knock all your teeth out and make you an old man!”

“Then I’ll rejuvenate you, Elder. See? This proves that I’m nicer than you.”

One more tooth flew out of my mouth. My words slurred. When someone lost three teeth, their pronunciation became off, but who cared? It didn’t matter when I used Aura Transmission.

“Wow, haha! Haha! You’re amazing!”

“You crazy bastard!”

It sounded as if a crunching sound came from my ribs. Some would wonder why I wasn’t sure, even though it was my own body. Before I could check what was broken, I had already shattered the Gray Spider’s shinbone. Thus, we both realized our pain a split second later.

“Aaaaaaaaah!”

“

Ah

, fucking hell.”

I screamed and stomped on the elder’s foot. She cursed and struck my jaw. Up, down, left, right. We struck each other anywhere we could until our screams became one.

[The Labyrinth-Dwelling Eye is speechless.]

[The Lonely Seeker is watching the duel.]

[The Eternal Plains Warhorse is baffled.]

Thuuuuuud!

As soon as the messages echoed in my head, the Gray Spider raised her right leg and slammed it into the ground. I didn’t know what kind of magic was used with that kick, but the loud messages of the Constellations disappeared in an instant.

“Get lost!” she yelled. The Gray Spider’s face was covered in blood as she grimaced like a demon. Her roar echoed throughout the city she had been ruling for a thousand years. “This is my fight! I’m not doing this for you, you peeping starheads. If any of you bastards dare to say another word, I’ll chase you to the ends of hell and tear your souls apart! So shut up!”

“What? That’s cool!”

“And you shut up too!”

My jaw shattered. I wasn’t joking. It genuinely shattered, but I couldn’t stop laughing. I pieced together the shattered bones and severed nerves using my aura, including my ribs and left knee, which had just been shattered, too.

Things weren’t faring any better for the elder. Despite her tattered state, the speed of her fists didn’t falter for even a moment.

“The Sword Emperor hates you!”

I yelled.

—What?

The Guardian, who had been watching silently, was startled. Regardless, I laughed and threw my fists freely.

“Actually, he ran all the way to the ninety-ninth floor because he hates you!”

—What the hell are you saying?!

“He says he was sick of being stalked!”

—No! Hey! When did I ever say that?

“He says he felt at ease because he hadn’t seen you for one hundred fifty years!”

The great thing about provocation was that, even if it was just baseless slander and lies, the person hearing it got angry anyway. Normally, one could just ignore it. However, in such an unusual situation, such as when exchanging punches, or when one had their nose broken, their foot crushed, and their shinbones cracked, things were different. The elder was so angry that she looked like she was about to faint from high blood pressure.

“You bastard!”

“Oi, oi! You’re putting too much strength into your punches! You’ll tire out before I do! Have you forgotten about the basics of pacing yourself?”

“Why the hell are you talking like an imbecile?”

“Apologize to the Viper! He didn’t do anything wrong! Don’t you feel sorry for him? You’re so cold-blooded. I can’t believe it.”

“

Ah

, fuck. Where did a lunatic like you come from?”

Good. Her breathing was off.

Bam!

Right at that moment, I struck the elder’s waist from the side with all my strength.

The elder’s face contorted. “Shit.”

I burst into laughter.

“I’m not using the power of a Constellation! That doesn’t mean I can’t babble!”

“What the hell is your problem?!”

“This is the power of humans! Human power! I’m showing you a fight filled with humanism, just like you wanted. Is there a problem?”

“Shit, really, fuck,

ah

, wow.”

“Okay. Another opening.”

I struck again.

“Lady Gray Spider, you’re strong!”

Seizing the moment when her breathing faltered, I struck the same spot again and again, driving my fist deeper and deeper. The flow of the fight was completely dictated by me now. Blood rushed to my head, and endorphins flowed through my body.

“It’s just that I’m stronger! Hahahaha!”

“

Ugh...

”

“Why? Because you’re standing before the Sword Emperor! You finally reunited with him after one hundred fifty years, so you can’t possibly embarrass yourself in front of him! ‘I’m superior to you.’ Like that, you want to look cool in front of him! But I have nothing like that! Ah, there’s no way I do!”

I planted my feet firmly into the ground, then threw an uppercut with every ounce of power I had left.

“I’ve already shown the Sword Emperor every single stupid thing a person can do! What difference does one more stupid thing make?”

Time seemed to come to a standstill. The elder had been lunging forward with her fist, ignoring the pain, but she now lost her balance. She glared at me after I struck her jaw, looking like the most wronged person in the universe.

“What the hell.... Freaking Sword Emperor Junior...”

With a final stagger, the elder collapsed onto the ground where she had spread her Spiderweb[1], fainting. Even as she lost consciousness, she couldn’t close her eyes, still glaring at me, as if the beautiful duel she had imagined was nothing like this. However, standing on two feet and facing the world was greater than glaring at it with one’s eyes.

I stood tall and laughed.

“I won! I won! I defeated the destroyer of the five species, who is also the master of the abandoned gray species, the god-slayer, and the greatest ruler of the fiftieth floor! I, Death King, have defeated the master of all Spiders!”

My declaration echoed throughout the city. There was no answer. The Gray Spider had driven away the Constellations. The ordinary followers and the remaining Spiders were too busy fighting fiercely around the spires to pay any attention. Those who feared that they could get caught up in our battle had fled long ago. Only the Guardian remained, staring at the elder and me with an indescribable look.

“Look! Do you see? This is my victory! Your tie, your regret, the one you thought you left behind! I defeated them with these hands! With these two fists! Well, what do you think? Aren’t you proud of me? So proud you can’t help yourself but go mad?”

For some reason, the Guardian looked incredibly embarrassed.

—Yeah... Kim Gong-Ja, I feel like I’m going to go mad because of you...

Of course. I was the ultimate victor.

1. The raw used the same word as Spider Web, the aura communication array from the previous chapter, but since she just summoned people and shouted in Aura Transmission, we tweaked a bit to differentiate ☜