Chapter 339: Blood and Liquor (3)

The Goddess of Protection was made up of five fragments. Those fragments now shone around me.

[She is worshiped.]

Idol was always revered by people. Carrying the burden of fulfilling expectations, she should hold her head high until the end of time because that was what being a ruler was about.

[She sympathizes.]

Sympathy always understood people’s wounds and transferred them to herself. Even if her flesh remained unharmed, her heart bore scars from wounds transferred from others, and she held nameless cries deep within her heart because that was what being a ruler was about.

[She is a test.]

Prayer always passed judgment. She sifted through those who pleaded with her, testing whether their prayers were genuine or if they were merely whispering lies to deceive her. She ensured that false accusations never buried genuine pleas because that was what being a ruler was about.

[She is a sacrifice.]

Sacrifice always suffered of her own volition. As her time was eaten away, the time of others blossomed. The more her pain deepened, the more vibrant the lives of others became. Meaningless suffering wasn’t allowed for her because that was what being a ruler was about.

[She shall bring you salvation.]

Salvation always saved others at the cost of herself. She placed the parts of herself that she wanted to protect—her tastes, pleasures, likes, dislikes, and aesthetics—on cold scales. On the other side of the scales were people. To elevate the other side of the scale, she constantly had to lower her side.

Therefore, she was the ruler.

[All hail.]

[The Goddess of Protection has appeared.]

My sword shone brightly.

“Five? She has more than four Maxims of Promise?” the crocodile shouted, staring at me with wide eyes. “That’s impossible! It doesn’t make sense! The Goddess of Protection... Hwia was the first Constellation that the Constellation Murderer tore apart! She should have been divided into five pieces!”

A gasp of horror leaked out from between the crocodile’s large teeth. “Even if you gathered the pieces and assembled them, the last fragment is still missing! The final piece is still in the Constellation Murderer’s possession! How in the world did you get his sword?!”

Kim Yul had already kneeled before me long ago, but it looked like the crocodile was unaware of that. Perhaps that was to be expected. Only two Constellations could have known this: the Ruin-Harvesting Cow, who had seen through my past, and the Labyrinth-Dwelling Eye, who had read my information.

“Deception! Yes! It’s deception! Death King, you aren’t only the king of death, but also of deception! Yet you cannot deceive us with such a cheap trick.”

A voice cut off the crocodile’s words. It was not my voice. “I have never played tricks when it comes to my existence, nor have I ever allowed them. Long time no see, everyone.”

The light emanating from my holy sword intertwined and formed a brilliant shape. For some reason, the light wasn’t blinding, so it felt like I could watch it forever.

The light grew stronger. The holy sword I held, as well as the four shadow swords—Sympathy, Prayer, Sacrifice, and Salvation—were shattered and sucked into the light, from which five enormous pairs of wings spread out.

“It has been a long time since I appeared in my complete form.”

One pair of wings spread open and knocked the table away with a loud clatter.

Booooom!

When the second pair of wings spread, the walls of the room collapsed. The third pair split the ceiling in two. The fourth unleashed a gale, and the fifth and final pair covered the sky of this world.

[The Goddess of Protection has activated her power.]

The angel blocked out the sun, casting five pairs of shadow strands across the land.

“Death King, my hero. I’ll fight alongside you.”

Those shadows were the goddess’ power and her territory. The sun was replaced, and the sky was struck down. She brought a world of shadows where her white wings reigned as the sole source of light.

“I refuse!” the crocodile screamed. “Hwia, the shadow that became light! The owner of the sixty-seventh floor isn’t you! It’s me! Us! The Twins of the Eternal Round Dance, the Dry Handprint Magnifico, and the Reddest Sommelier! We’re the true masters of this place! Your holy ground will lose its light here!”

The crocodile’s cry wasn’t in vain.

[The manager has refused to recognize joint ownership.]

[The Goddess of Protection does not own the area.]

The sky turned blood red. The sun, illuminating the world from the sixty-sixth floor, mutated from its familiar form. The white orb suddenly turned pitch black. Like a child drawing with crayons, black lines appeared one by one.

[The Reddest Sommelier has activated their power.]

A pitch-black abyss appeared where the sun once stood.

“Flow forth!”

From the enormous, well-like hole, liquid thicker than water and stickier than wine gushed out. It was blood, flowing endlessly from the well in the sky.

“Look! Every drop of that blood torrent is a soul I have collected! They’re my beloved followers!” The crocodile raised his arms. The blood poured down from the sky and pooled in his small palms, overflowing between his thick, webbed fingers. “This is my temple! My holy ground! No one can deny my presence!”

“I see.” The Goddess of Protection folded her wings and spread them out again. Light burst forth. Her white wings spread like a sword hilt as she stood tall, casting a shadow that also resembled a sword. The flickering sword said, “If so, I shall cut you down.”

[The Goddess of Protection has activated her power.]

[The Goddess of Protection is the manager of the sixty-fifth and sixty-sixth floors.]

Hwia extended her hand. Her fingers, curled like hooks, pointed toward the crocodile.

[The Goddess of Protection has invaded the sixty-seventh floor!]

Five beams of light erupted from her fingertips and struck the crocodile.

***

[The Lion Realm isn’t under beginner protection.]

[A floor conquest battle has begun.]

[The floor conquest battle is taking place between the Lion Realm, the Silverwhite Realm, the Moonlit Realm, the Banquet Realm, the Taiji Realm, and the Demonic Realm.]

“

Aaaaaaaah!

” the crocodile screamed.

The five beams of light etched into him, squeezing out crimson wine from him. Cracks appeared in his skin and blood trickled out like lava spewing through the earth’s shell.

“These souls are dense,” the Goddess of Protection said. “Only an existence capable of drinking a heart’s essence without hesitation could produce such blood. Even a carnivorous beast would have mercy on furless newborns, and even a beast with scales would stop hunting once its belly is full.”

[The Reddest Sommelier’s presence has weakened.]

She frowned. “You aren’t even a beast. You are nothing but an insect.”

[The Reddest Sommelier’s presence has weakened.]

The crocodile shouted, “Damn it! Damn it! You’re worthless trash who was betrayed and torn apart by the very human you chose! You couldn’t even face a lowly Constellation we had never heard of!”

“Yes, I was like that,” Hwia answered calmly, not denying the crocodile’s screams, but also brushing them off like a master swordswoman deflecting an opponent’s sword strikes. “But before that, I was the founding monarch who established an empire.”

The sword that parried the strikes swirled like a butterfly, striking the crocodile’s shoulder three times.

“

Aaaaaaah!

”

[The Reddest Sommelier’s presence has weakened.]

[The Reddest Sommelier’s presence has weakened.]

The Reddest Sommelier’s allies, frozen in place by the sudden turn of events, stepped forward.

“Stop!” the Dry Handprint Magnifico shouted, turning toward the twins. “It’s your fault! What are you standing there for? If you had done your job properly, the Reddest Sommelier wouldn’t have been injured—”

Of course, the Goddess of Protection also had allies.

“Is that really so?” I asked. “Skills that require a target to activate have an obvious weakness.”

With their eyes widened, the Constellations blinked. In that sole blink of an eye, my fist sped through the air.

“Go ahead. Try to scoop up the rainwater with your hands.”

My fist struck the crocodile’s belly. The impact pierced him and spread through the air with a shockwave. A few drops of blood mixed into the invisible wave.

“

Ugh

,

huff...

”

“You have quite a tough belly. I didn’t get to leave a hole.” I swung my fist again. “This won’t do. It’s embarrassing.”

Thump!

The same blood that had been flying around was now on my hands. “As Hwia’s master, I should at least be able to do as much as she does.”

I struck with my fist once more.

“

Guh, ugh!

”

A hole was left in the crocodile’s belly. Thus, even if the Dry Handprint Magnifico transferred the damage from Hwia’s sword strike to the twins, the amount of wine gushing out from the crocodile didn’t decrease.

[The Reddest Sommelier’s presence has weakened.]

[The Reddest Sommelier’s presence has weakened.]

[The Reddest Sommelier’s presence has weakened.]

“

Ah.

”

The sky split open. As the wine gushed out of the crocodile’s belly, more blood spurted from the hole in the sky. Like a broken sewer during the rainy season, the blood seemed to flow endlessly.

[The Reddest Sommelier is no longer able to maintain authorization level.]

The crimson flood swept away a baby crocodile, probably what the Constellation became after their fall.

[Adjusting authorization level.]

[The Reddest Sommelier’s title has been revoked.]

[The sixty-seventh floor has been cleared!]

[The floor conquest battle result has been updated.]

[The sixty-seventh floor is now under the Goddess of Protection’s management!]

Good. I turned my head toward her, and we exchanged glances across the remains of the fallen crocodile.

“Hwia.”

“Yes, Hero.”

That was the end of our conversation. I dashed to the left, and Hwia flew to the right. Only the crocodile’s remains were left and were swallowed by the blood-red flood, which swept them away.

“

Ah!

”

The white twin stood in the direction Hwia headed, while the black twin stood at the end of my path.

I extended my fist toward the black twin. “If striking just one of you is meaningless...”

Hwia swung her wings at the white twin. “Attacking both of you simultaneously will suffice.”

[The Dry Handprint Magnifico has activated their power!]

The magnifico tried to block the simultaneous attacks by transferring damage, but...

[The manager has refused to recognize joint ownership.]

[The Dry Handprint Magnifico does not own this area.]

Like the crocodile had done before, the Goddess of Protection, who was now the manager of this floor, deflected the power.

“Damn it.”

[The Dry Handprint Magnifico is trying to invade the sixty-seventh floor.]

“Too late,” Hwia said.

A clash erupted on both sides of the battlefield. This battle had been disadvantageous to the twins from the start. They were merely fulfilling their role as tanks, so their martial arts skills were unimpressive. On the opposite side from me, Hwia swung all her wings, striking down and shattering the white twin’s limbs.

“It’s okay,” the black twin told the white twin. “You’re okay.”

Even as I closed in, the black twin didn’t resist. Perhaps they lacked the strength to do so. Their focus was solely on their other half.

“You’re okay. As long as I’m here, you—”

“Yes.” I swung my fist. “As long as you’re here.”

A storm of blows washed over the black twin. They couldn’t even finish what they were saying before I struck them in the shoulders and jaw. With the black twin being rendered unable to speak, no one was left to negate the white twin’s damage.

“

Aaaah!!!!!

”

The white twin was the first to fall. With wounds that could no longer be ignored and damage that kept adding up, they finally succumbed.

Splash!

The white twin powerlessly fell into the pool of blood that now stretched all the way to the horizon. The black twin’s fate was no different. They collapsed onto a rock, their body tattered by my blows.

“

Ah...

”

I looked down at the black twin. “Getting back up after enduring pain is an incredible deed.”

The black twin’s gaze, however, wasn’t on me. It was fixed on the white twin, who was mostly submerged in the blood under Hwia’s fluttering wings.

“If you had become stronger, I wouldn’t have won today, but you two spat out the pain instead of swallowing it. That’s all,” I said.

Finally, the black twin turned their head and looked up at me with pupil-less eyes that held nothing but darkness. “There are people in this world who cannot become strong.”

I nodded. “But you guys could have.”

A moment later, the corners of the black twin’s mouth curled into a smile. “I hope all of you die.”

That was the curse the twins left behind.

[The Twins of Eternal Round Dance’s presence has weakened.]

[Adjusting authorization level.]

[The Twins of Eternal Round Dance’s title has been revoked.]

The twins’ bodies simultaneously disintegrated into specks of ash and scattered. On the rock where the black twin had lain, a one-winged parrot raised their head.

[The sixty-eighth floor has been cleared!]

[Updating the floor conquest battle results...]

I turned to look at the last remaining

Constellation.

“You bastards!” the Dry Handprint Magnifico raged.

However, it was a meaningless outburst. As proven in video games, the only thing a lone support player could do in such circumstances was quietly leave the game. If they refused to do so, they would have to bear the shame of seeing their poor performance on the scoreboard at the end of the game. The magnifico most likely understood that fate as well, but they still glared at me with burning hatred.

Splash, splash.

I approached, blood splattering around me with every step taken. Hwia flew after me. The magnifico seemed to find everything reflected in their eyes hateful.

I said, “Now you have no Constellation to pass the damage on to.”

The magnifico looked at Hwia.

[The Dry Handprint Magnifico has activated their power.]

[The Goddess of Protection has refused.]

[The power activation has been canceled.]

Perhaps the magnifico had intended to transfer the damage they were about to receive to Hwia, but this would require the other party’s consent. Naturally, Hwia refused. The magnifico glared at me.

[The Dry Handprint Magnifico has activated their power.]

[The Dry Handprint Magnifico has chosen you to take the damage they will receive.]

[Do you accept?]

I shook my head.

[The power activation has been nullified.]

The magnifico gritted their teeth. “You must understand me. It’s not my fault, it’s yours. Everything is your fault and the Tower’s wrongdoing. Therefore, you must understand me.”

I reached out my hand. Slowly, Hwia crumbled. Her five pairs of wings fell apart and turned into five swords. The swords overlapped, forming a single, holy sword.

I gripped the hilt of the holy sword. “No, the fact that you’re in the Tower is proof that you received the Tower master’s understanding.”

“I—”

“She understands you more than enough.”

My sword drew an arc. The Constellation’s head fell into the crimson water with a splash.

[The Dry Handprint Magnifico’s presence has weakened.]

[Adjusting authorization level.]

[The Dry Handprint Magnifico’s title has been revoked.]

A chicken with a red crest flapped their wings on the surface of the water. It swam past my feet, its white feathers stained red.

The alliance of the three Constellations had crumbled under my sword.

[The sixty-ninth floor has been cleared!]

[Updating the result of the floor conquest battle...]

[You can now challenge the seventieth floor.]