Chapter 30 - Autumn Rain Is Blood (3)

3

[A quest for the twelfth floor is issued.]

The moment that voice sounded, something showered against the windows.

PATTER, PATTER.

Raindrops.

They struck the audience chamber's ornate windows and slid down the glass. For a moment, the rain on the windows drew our attention. It wasn't the sudden downpour that startled us. What gave us even a little surprise was something else.

"Oh, ohhh..."

"It's a nightmare... The nightmare rain is falling again!"

The color of the rain.

The rain running down the windows was red as blood. No, perhaps it really was blood. The NPCs in the audience chamber with us, military and civil officials alike, began clutching their heads and groaning.

"O Goddess, do not forsake us!"

"Wh-what? What's gotten into these guys all of a sudden...?"

Exhausted from fighting the Sword Star, Viper struggled to look around.

"The Demon King..."

An armored NPC muttered the words. Prostrate on the audience chamber floor, his shoulders trembled. As though that trembling were contagious, groans rose all around.

"The empire is finished..."

"The Demon King is coming..."

"His Majesty... Where has our sovereign gone...?"

Not one NPC's face was free of gloom. Despair, resignation, lamentation. Their expressions were no different from those of real people.

Viper swallowed hard.

"Th-these guys are ridiculous. Hey, this is all staged, right? What's happening now?"

"The quest has begun," I said quietly.

"It doesn't look like we'll keep fighting if we're left alone. If it's hard to provoke any more infighting, there's no choice but to attack us directly."

"Attack? Who?"

"Who do you think?"

I glared out the window.

"The one who offered us those lousy rewards to turn us against each other."

Laughter sounded inside my head.

[The Demon King of Autumn Rain agrees with your words.]

SHHHHH!

The rain grew heavier. At first, it had sounded tentative, like a gentle knock at the window, but in an instant it became a din. Dozens, hundreds, thousands of red droplets battered the glass.

"..."

I approached the window. I couldn't see outside from here. The rain had grown so heavy that the entire pane was stained crimson. I smashed it with my sword's hilt.

CRASH!

Bright red raindrops poured into the audience chamber. At last, I could look down clearly at the scene outside. We were in the heart of the palace. Beyond the audience chamber stretched the imperial palace grounds. Beyond the palace, the city. Beyond the city, enormous walls.

[The Demon King of Autumn Rain manifests.]

Beyond the walls, it stood.

"You pitiful things."

It parted its lips slightly and whispered.

Yes. A whisper.

Yet that whispered voice carried over the walls, over the countless walls of the imperial palace, and finally drifted through the broken window.

"Did you imagine that summoning humans from another world and placing them in high office would make them your shield? You call them Heroes, but do you truly believe they will be heroes for your sake?"

Countless raindrops fell.

"Go on, summon them. Summon as many as you please. What reason have you not to? Summon thousands of Heroes and tens of thousands of knights. They are only humans, just like you. How pitiful that your folly knows no end."

The voice rang out amid the endless rain. It rang against the city walls. Against the palace walls. Against the walls of the audience chamber. It laughed. A great, booming laugh. The laughter echoed and echoed, reverberating through our skulls.

"Ugh, aaah..."

The NPCs pressed their heads still lower. They clawed at their heads as though in agony.

Hunters like us fared somewhat better. Unlike the NPCs, this was our first time hearing the Demon King's laughter. We could bear it. Of course, it would be an entirely different story if we had to hear laughter like that all year long.

"You things who do not see humans as humans."

That was when it happened.

The map visible only to me. My minimap. Red dots began appearing on the map illuminated by the God of War's blessing. One. Two. Three. The red dots slowly marking the minimap suddenly began multiplying.

Hundreds.

Thousands.

Tens of thousands.

Soon, everything beyond the horizon was painted red.

"Be swallowed by your own malice."

Lightning struck.

For an instant, heaven and earth turned pale, laying bare everything between them.

Every red dot on the map was a monster.

"..."

"..."

The hunters fell silent. This monster army was beyond comparison with the eleventh-floor stage. An immense, innumerable host was advancing from beyond the horizon.

KRRRR.

KEK, KEK!

The monsters howled. They bared their teeth. They twisted their necks. Raindrops streamed down the goblins' contorted faces. To them, the bloody rain seemed to be holy water instead. Like knights embarking on a great holy war, the monsters looked up at the sky and worshipped the red rain.

"... I told you."

I tightened my grip on my sword's hilt.

"Now is not the time to fight among ourselves."

Then words unfolded before my eyes.

+

[Battle for the Imperial Capital]

Difficulty: A–SSS

Objective: Heroes! You bravely fought the Demon King's army and defended the supply route. Sensing danger, the Demon King has personally entered the battlefield. The Demon King can summon monster armies anytime, anywhere. His target is the heart of the Aegim Empire: the imperial capital, Hakamnia.

Fortunately, the Demon King's power has weakened from manifesting so far away.

Stop the Demon King!

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

+

A brief silence followed.

"... Weakened?" Viper muttered involuntarily.

"That?"

He spoke for all of us.

"This is... unfair. How are we supposed to clear it? This quest wasn't designed to be cleared in the first place. Even if everything up to the tenth floor was a tutorial... the difficulty is way too different. This is..."

"That's enough. Let's stay calm."

I turned back toward the audience chamber.

The hunters stood there. Behind them, the NPCs despaired.

"We can do this. The Tower doesn't give us quests that can't be cleared."

"But how are we supposed to defeat that many monsters...?"

"That's why I'm telling you to stay calm."

I pointed to the NPCs.

"We're not merely hunters here. Have you forgotten what you chose yourselves? Viper, you're the [Commander of the Aegim Empire's Imperial Guard]. A guard commander should lead the guard."

"..."

"We hunters can't clear this stage alone."

That's right.

"Persuade the NPCs. Get them on their feet. Command them. Treat them like real people and find a way to lead them onto the battlefield."

That was how I'd cleared the eleventh-floor stage, too.

"We mustn't fight each other. Sword Star, you're the commander of the empire's knights. The knight commander and the Imperial Guard commander crossing swords? How could a country like that properly repel a foreign invasion?"

"..."

"Did you think receiving the knight commander role as a reward was a benefit? It is. But if you claim the rights, you have to shoulder the duties, too. Like it or not, we've inherited the [roles] of the empire's leadership. Now it's time to do some Role-playing."

I turned my gaze to the Paladin.

She was watching me with a serious expression.

"Foreign Minister."

"Yes."

"We're in the audience chamber, but the emperor is nowhere to be seen. He must be somewhere in the palace. Take the Foreign Ministry's civil-official NPCs and find him. Without a leader, the NPCs won't follow us properly."

The Paladin nodded.

"Understood."

"Supreme Commander."

I turned to the Inquisitor. Despite losing his right arm, he was still all smiles. If anything, he was watching me with keen interest.

"Yes! That would be me!"

"I can't stand hunters like you. I genuinely hate you. After seeing that shit you pulled earlier, I realized I'd have to settle things with you someday. But right now, we can't afford to lose someone who's our supreme commander."

"Ahaha. I'm growing fonder and fonder of you, Hunter Kim Gongja!"

"You said you'd give me full authority, so shut up and listen."

I spoke while studying the map.

We didn't have much time. The red tide was drawing ever closer to the capital.

"There should be plenty of soldiers on the walls. With monsters surging toward them like a tidal wave, there's no way they'll be in a sound state of mind. As supreme commander, go up onto the walls yourself and reassure them."

"Hmm! Noblesse oblige!"

"Hold the walls no matter what. If they're breached, this stage is over."

"Don't worry."

The Inquisitor smiled.

"I've never broken a promise in my life. I'll protect them with my life!"

"Okay."

I looked at everyone assembled.

"Then I'll go ahead."

It was time for war.

4

WHOOSH! WHOOSH!

As I left the imperial palace, the remaining hunters were being summoned one after another as late arrivals.

"Wow. Where are we now?"

"Glad it's not some shabby port."

The hunters looked around the capital's streets like tourists on a sightseeing trip.

"Ugh, is this acid rain? What's with the color...?"

"Get under a roof! Hurry!"

"Hey, it says to choose a role as a reward."

"A role? What's a role?"

The late arrivals had no grasp of the situation. Was it because they'd arrived later than us?

'Well, even the top rankers who got to the twelfth floor first suspected each other and fought.'

They'd even killed three people on mere suspicion. What could we expect of the late arrivals? We couldn't ask much of hunters who'd only just entered a new stage.

'There's no time to persuade the hunters now.'

The Demon King's army was advancing even at this very moment.

'First, I'll use the NPCs to hold off the attack!'

Ignoring the hunters, I ran down the street. The streets were damn confusing. Fortunately, though, I had my minimap. I steadily followed the shortest route to the walls.

"Kim Gongja."

I'd just left the imperial palace when someone appeared beside me.

"Witch?"

"Call me Black Dragon leader. I don't much like my epithet."

The Witch. The second-ranked hunter had appeared out of nowhere and was running alongside me. Was she channeling aura into her steps? She ran down the street as though gliding.

"How did you suddenly appear here?"

"... It's my skill. Instant Teleportation. I can move anywhere within my line of sight."

That skill was fucking broken.

"Hey, Zombie. Let her kill you once! Instant Teleportation? That's way too sweet to pass up! Forget anyone else—I'll approve if you get killed by her. Hurry up and die!"

Ignoring my attendant spirit, I asked,

"Then why aren't you going ahead to the walls?"

"I came to get you. Isn't that obvious?"

The Witch answered expressionlessly. Even while running, she showed no sign of fatigue.

"I saw you on the eleventh floor. You have a sword that works on the NPCs here, don't you? I don't know what sword it is, but it can raise their morale. The person the soldiers on the walls need right now isn't me. It's you."

The Witch looked at me.

"Give me your consent."

"Pardon?"

"Clearly state out loud that you agree to teleport with me. Otherwise, I can't move you. It's a restriction on my skill."

I was a little taken aback.

"Wait. Instant Teleportation must be at least an S-rank skill, right? Are you sure it's okay to tell me even its restrictions like this? It's your trump card."

"What a strange thing to say."

The Witch wiped her forehead. Red raindrops fell ceaselessly over us. The rain had plastered strands of hair to her pale forehead, too.

Her black eyes regarded me.

"According to you, I'm this empire's chancellor. Isn't it only natural for a chancellor to play her trump card to protect her country?"

"..."

"There's no time. A rough statement will do. Just hurry and agree."

I nodded.

"I consent to the Black Dragon leader using her skill."

At that moment, the Witch reached out with her left hand and took my right. Firmly. Her rain-soaked hand closed around mine. Her long fingers interlaced with mine as though determined not to let the rain make her grip slip.

"Huh?"

"... There's one more restriction."

Holding my hand, the Witch whispered,

"Teleport."

WHOOSH!

In the blink of an eye, we arrived atop the wall.

Just as expected, the walls were in utter chaos. Despite the monster army bearing down on them, the imperial soldiers weren't responding. No, they couldn't respond. They hid behind the walls, trembling, or prayed to their god.

"It's over..."

"O God. Have mercy, and please take pity on our wretched..."

"Eek, hih... hh..."

NPCs. Yet people no different from living humans.

Even if they were illusions, the fear they felt was not. The expressions born of their despair were not mere phantoms.

"Black Dragon leader, thank you for bringing me here. From here on, I'll..."

"Wait."

The Witch sighed.

"I can't let a junior send me packing after showing him nothing but my failings."

"Pardon?"

"I didn't become a guild leader by sitting around, either."

The Witch took a deep breath.

Then she opened her lips.

"... Soldiers of the Aegim Empire!"

Black aura flowed from her body.

Black was a little darker than red.

"Rise! What are you doing atop these walls? Do you imagine walls built of stone will protect you all on their own? Do you not know that the true bulwark protecting our empire is not a heap of stones, but you alone—the officers and soldiers of the empire!"

One by one, the soldiers crouching behind the walls raised their heads.

"Chancellor...?"

"It's the chancellor."

Murmurs spread.

To the soldiers, the Witch seemed to appear as their chancellor. One person recognized her, and his words spread in an instant, carried on the rain.

The Witch nodded.

"Rise! I command you to rise. Someday, these walls may crumble and our homes may be destroyed. But so long as you stand, the empire—our Aegim Empire—will not fall! For you yourselves are the empire!"

She was nothing like her usual self.

"Rise!"

The Witch was impassioned. Not a trace remained of her cold, expressionless demeanor. With a furious expression, she looked down along the walls. Whenever her gaze swept over the soldiers, they were drawn along by it as though caught in a net.

"Rise, soldiers of the empire! Aegim's final wall! Warriors who are now the empire itself! Take up your spears! Grasp your swords! Until there is nothing left to grasp, until you have no hands left to wield spear or sword! For the empire, for yourselves, rise!"

The Witch tightened her grip.

On my hand.

"Our deity protects us!"

She thrust my right hand upward.

I realized what I had to do now.

SHING!

The holy sword slid free of its sheath.

Gripping its hilt, I raised it high. On the wall beneath the pouring red shower, the holy sword's blade shone brilliantly. Its white light pierced the rain and illuminated the soldiers' faces.

"The founder's sword..."

"It's the holy sword. The holy sword attested by the Goddess!"

And then.

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

[The Goddess of Protection draws upon the last of her divine power.]

There was light.