Chapter 25 - The Chosen Ones (1)

1

As dazzling light poured down, the attendant spirit spoke urgently.

“Hey, hold on. If they're summoning just the top ten separately, won't old man Markus be there too? The moment he sees you, he'll go berserk and attack. What are you going to do?”

'Oh, you worry too much. It'll be fine. What's the worst that could happen? I die?'

“Kim Zombie, you little...”

The corners of his mouth twitched, as though he was about to launch into a lecture. Whoops. I hastily added,

'I mean it'll be fine because I've thought it all through. Don't you know who I am? Kim Gongja. Kim Gongja! A slippery bastard certified by the Sword Emperor himself! Have a little faith.'

“You're saying you have a plan?”

'Of course! A foolproof plan. I'll show you in a moment.'

“Ahem.”

The attendant spirit folded his arms, apparently displeased.

But displeased or not, it was already too late. The summoning had begun, and white light enveloped us completely. Whatever outcome awaited us, I now had no choice but to face the Sword Star.

I closed my eyes.

[Teleportation complete.]

When I opened them again, I had already been summoned to the twelfth floor.

It was nothing like the eleventh floor. The polar opposite, perhaps? If the eleventh floor was a fierce, filthy battlefield where life and death hung in the balance, the twelfth was a splendid, extravagant palace. The imperial palace of the Aegim Empire.

'... No, hold on.'

I looked around.

'Palace politics might be just as fierce and filthy.'

The other top contributors appeared one after another in the palace's audience chamber. There were some unfamiliar faces, but most were hunters I'd met yesterday, including the Witch and the Count. They certainly lived up to their reputations. They weren't the heads of major guilds for nothing.

My eyes met those of the other hunters.

“Oh?”

“Hmm.”

Their reactions varied. One hunter beamed as if to say, “I knew you'd be here ahead of us,” while another furrowed their brow as though thinking, “I didn't expect you to take first place again.”

“Hunter Kim Gongja! You were incredible!”

The Inquisitor belonged to the former group.

“I thoroughly enjoyed watching your performance on the eleventh floor! To think you'd use the NPCs like that. I'm impressed!”

He scurried over. Perhaps because he was so short, he looked just like a puppy running up to me.

“Is the sword at your waist a special item? After seeing it, the NPCs began following you without hesitation. Did you receive it as a reward for clearing the tenth floor?”

“Well, yes...”

“I knew it!”

The Inquisitor looked up at me, smiling brightly.

“You used your tenth-floor reward to lead the charge through the eleventh floor as well. What remarkable ingenuity!”

“Oh, well. I wouldn't go that far...”

“Many people will be jealous of you from now on. They may dismiss you as someone who merely lucked into success. Ignore them! It's all your own ability!”

Uh.

What was this person? An angel?

“Hey! Kim Zombie! You idiot!”

The attendant spirit suddenly shouted.

This wasn't his usual teasing tone. It was an urgent cry.

“Watch out! Behind you—!”

Then it happened. Everything unfolded before he could finish speaking.

“Hmm.”

The first to react was the Inquisitor standing before me.

His ever-smiling eyes narrowed, and he pulled on my wrist. I lurched off balance. One step. Pushing me back, the Inquisitor stepped forward in my place.

“... Divine Formula: God of Flesh.”

The instant he murmured those words, steel struck something with tremendous force.

CLANG!

It wasn't merely steel.

It was a sword.

A sword strike carrying unmistakable murderous intent.

“Aha.”

The Inquisitor smiled.

His eyes weren't smiling.

“What a surprise, Sword Star. When did you change professions to become an assassin?”

“Move aside.”

The elderly gentleman in a suit—the Sword Star—spoke coldly.

He held a long sword pointed at us.

No.

That wasn't right.

“I'm going to kill that man.”

He wasn't pointing it at us. He was pointing it at me.

2

Silence settled over the audience chamber.

My entire body prickled, as though an electric current ran through the air.

“Hmm.”

Only the Inquisitor spoke in a tone scarcely different from before.

“Excuse me, but by ‘that man,’ surely you don't mean Hunter Kim Gongja?”

“Of course I do,” the Sword Star replied. “If you don't move aside, I'll take one of your arms as well.”

The Inquisitor smiled.

“That's rather inconvenient! I cannot make way for you right now. Hunter Kim Gongja has been recognized by the five great guilds, including our Pantheon. If we let him die here, all five guilds will lose face!”

“So you're determined to throw away an arm, young man.”

“Ah, that would be troublesome too! I still have plenty of uses for both my arms.”

Still smiling, the Inquisitor tilted his head.

“Could you tell us why you're targeting Hunter Kim Gongja?”

“I am under no obligation to do so.”

“Are you saying you have absolutely no intention of giving up?”

“Enough chatter. Move aside.”

The Sword Star refused firmly.

Right. From the old man's perspective, I was a mass murderer who'd killed over four thousand people. Without knowing about my skill, the Sword Star could hardly react any other way.

“As I said, I am going to kill that man.”

“Hmm! Then it can't be helped.”

The Inquisitor brought his hands together.

“I shall subdue you here. Divine Formula: Divine Conveyance.”

At that moment, light burst behind the Sword Star. Two hunters emerged through the flash.

Viper, head of the Heavenly Martial School, and the Paladin, deputy leader of the Vigilantes. The two hunters, widely known as close-combat specialists, let out battle cries. They swung their weapons at the Sword Star's back.

“Haaah!”

The Sword Star knitted his brows.

“Pesky flies...”

He clicked his tongue twice. With each click, his sword swung once. Blue aura cut through the air, raising small sprays of blood. Two slashes. In just two sword strikes, the Paladin's cheek was cut, and a gash opened on Viper's forearm.

“Y-you monstrous old bastard!”

The exchange had taken place in an instant.

“What the hell do you eat to stay this spry, old man? Come on, just get old already! Hurry up and retire! Young people like me can't get anywhere because of you!”

Viper screamed at the top of his lungs.

The Sword Star gave a quiet snort.

“Aren't you already in your forties? To the truly young, you're just as old.”

“What a joke! Your forties are still your prime! If anything, real life doesn't even begin until your forties—”

“Head of the Heavenly Martial School! You most certainly are old! For starters, your face looks astonishingly aged!”

“That fucking religious nut is on my side, right? Huh?”

“Hah.”

The Paladin sighed.

“Focus on the opponent in front of you, Viper. We're at a disadvantage.”

Even while sighing, the Paladin didn't let down their guard. No, if anything, they seemed more tense. The Inquisitor, Viper, and the Paladin. Despite being surrounded on three sides by three top-ranked hunters, the Sword Star stood alone, aloof and unruffled.

“Hmm. We certainly are at a disadvantage as things stand.”

Had the Inquisitor sensed the state of the battle too?

With a cheerful smile, he requested reinforcements.

“Count!”

“What?”

“Give me some money, please!”

“How much will you need?”

“Fortunately, the Sword Star hasn't lost his reason. Briefly subduing him should suffice. Ten thousand gold, please!”

“Fifteen percent interest. Compounded.”

The Count, who had been quietly observing the fight, opened a fan.

“Three months of interest-free installments. Will those terms do?”

“Ahaha! You've misunderstood me! I didn't ask you to lend me money. I asked you to give me some.”

“Well, now. Are you forcing a merchant to make a donation?”

“Yes! Exactly! Isn't it all money you earned through dirty dealings anyway? I'll put it to good use, so make a generous donation to the temple and go to heaven!”

“You're a more ruthless robber than I am...”

Shaking their head, the Count took something out.

A pouch decorated with a snail pattern.

The Count loosened the golden thread cinching its opening.

“Withdraw ten thousand gold.”

The pouch opened its mouth.

CLATTER!

Countless gold coins spilled out. The pouch itself was probably an extremely rare item. Once the coins had piled up into a low hill, the Count put it away.

“Here you are. Take it, good priest. Exactly ten thousand gold.”

“Gladly!”

The Inquisitor beamed and brought his hands together.

“Divine Formula: Divine Offering!”

The coins scattered across the floor shone. Their golden light filled the audience chamber. At its center, the Inquisitor moved his hands briskly and murmured,

“Divine Miracle: Physical Enhancement. Enhancement targets: Paladin. Viper. Enhancement duration: three hundred seconds each. Gold shall seize our hands. Formula complete!”

“Hmm.”

“Tch...”

Then something strange happened. The gold coins piled on the floor vanished without a trace.

In their place, all the light they had emitted transferred to the Paladin and Viper. Golden radiance, much like aura, rippled around the two hunters' bodies. “Now then,” the Inquisitor said, spreading his arms wide.

“For the next three hundred seconds, the Paladin and the head of the Heavenly Martial School will be markedly different. Sword Star! No matter how strong you are, you'll have difficulty withstanding a combined attack from the four of us: myself, the Count, the Paladin, and the head of the Heavenly Martial School!”

“...”

“Above all, the Count's treasury hasn't run dry yet. Haha. In fact, I wonder if the day will ever come when it does! If you'd like to test whether the Count goes bankrupt before your head goes flying, by all means, give it a try!”

Standing some distance away, the Count pursed their lips.

“Why drag my perfectly innocent treasury into this trial? All I did was make a donation because a religious nut asked me for one. Good grief. Whether in the outside world or the Tower, it's so hard being a merchant...”

“... If I may add one thing.”

A cold voice spoke. It was the Witch. The second-ranked hunter, Black Dragon's guild leader, broke the silence she'd maintained until now.

She looked at the Sword Star with an expressionless face.

“The combined attack won't stop at four people. Let me make it clear that I'll be joining in too. Yesterday, Hunter Kim Gongja formally entered an agreement with us in the presence of the five great guilds.”

The Sword Star furrowed his brow.

“An agreement?”

“Yes. An agreement.”

The Witch nodded.

“Hunter Kim Gongja joined all five great guilds without becoming subordinate to any particular one. In exchange, we promised to treat him as an equal to our guild leaders. Sword Star. If you point your sword at Hunter Kim Gongja, it's the same as attacking every one of us.”

“...”

“And, of course, by ‘us,’ I mean the five great guilds.”

The Witch took out a mirror.

“Black Dragon. The Union. The Pantheon. The Heavenly Martial School. The Vigilantes.”

The mirror rose on its own and circled through the air. One. Two. Three. Six mirrors in all orbited the Witch like hunting dogs intent on protecting their master.

“Can you really take on all of us, Sword Star?”

In one coordinated motion, all five hunters leveled their weapons at the Sword Star.

“...”

The elderly swordsman remained silent.

That's right.

'No matter how terrifyingly powerful the Sword Star is...'

At this very moment—

'He isn't strong enough to make enemies of all five great guilds.'

I had entered an agreement with the guild leaders for this very moment.

Perhaps the day would come when I became stronger than the Sword Star. No, I would make it come. But it wouldn't be today or tomorrow. Until that day arrived, I had no choice but to take precautions.

I grinned inwardly.

'Remember what I said on the eleventh floor?'

“What?”

'There are two ways to deal with a powerful enemy.'

Become a one-man army powerful enough to crush the enemy single-handedly.

Or build an army of my own to fight them.

'The Sword Star is just a solo player.'

But I was different.

'I've already secured allies.'

So, at least for now, if the Sword Star and I fought, my victory was guaranteed.

'See? That's the plan I was talking about. Go on, be impressed.'

“Tsk, tsk. You really are a slippery bastard...”

The attendant spirit sighed.

But his expression was surprisingly pleasant. He seemed quite satisfied that I hadn't come up to the twelfth floor thoughtlessly, but had a fully considered plan. For all his bluster, this ghost was an enormous worrier.

I took a step forward.

“Sir Sword Star.”

The eyes of every hunter in the audience chamber turned toward me. The Sword Star's were among them. I deliberately smiled to show how at ease I was.

Then I looked him straight in the eye.

“Why don't we have a little talk?”

Listen carefully. Lord Gongja is speaking.