Chapter 52 - After the Ending (3)

3

We finally pushed through the crowd and reached the café.

Familiar faces I had missed were waiting inside.

“Ahaha, welcome!”

The Inquisitor, guild leader of the Pantheon, waved his right arm.

“To think you really cleared floor twenty in five days! This is the greatest achievement since the Tower was built. You have my sincere admiration, Hunter Kim Gongja! No, I suppose I should call you Death King now!”

“Even now, I wonder whether this is a dream...”

The Paladin sipped her iced coffee.

“Frankly, I expected you, the Black Dragon leader, and the Sword Star to fail and die. And you even cleared floor twenty alone? Incredible. If you have a secret, please share it.”

“A secret?”

I sat down on one side of the table.

“All I had to do was live a good life.”

“How very practical.”

The Paladin smiled wryly.

“Anyway, it’s good to see you after so long. How has everyone been?”

“Well, ‘so long’ is only five days.”

The Count took a puff from a long pipe.

“We stayed in the audience chamber at first, as we promised you. A promise is a promise. But then, wouldn’t you know it, imperial NPCs suddenly started moving around. Quite a shock!”

“Oh.”

That must have been when I defeated the Demon King on floor twelve.

After driving it back, I had received a quest. That had set the frozen time flowing again.

“I hadn’t thought of that. What happened?”

“The imperial NPCs thought we were rebels who had broken into the palace!”

The Inquisitor beamed.

“Someone in splendid clothes shouted, ‘Seize those rebels!’ Then the imperial knights and elite soldiers swarmed us. Ohhh, it sent a chill down my spine!”

“But this little squirt has all sorts of tricks up his sleeve.”

Viper, the Heavenly Martial Sect’s leader.

The one-eyed hunter ruffled the Inquisitor’s hair.

“We let them capture us first, then escaped from prison. Tsk. Honestly.”

“Ahaha! Wasn’t it fun? Who would have thought there’d be a secret passage hidden in the dungeon? It felt just like being a child again!”

“Huh? Didn’t you say the Bulgarian mafia held you captive as a kid?”

“Yes!”

The Inquisitor smiled innocently.

“That’s why I said it was fun! It reminded me of my childhood. Prison! Underground! Escape! Ahhh, all those things adorned my childhood and made it shine so beautifully! Now they’re all fond, distant memories.”

“Crazy bastard...”

Viper sighed heavily, over and over.

While I had been busy acting out a hero-versus-Demon-King saga, the guild leaders had apparently had an action adventure of their own.

“Yes. I understand that we all led wonderful lives in the outside world.”

The Witch shrugged and joined us at the table.

“Count, you were born in an Indian garbage village. Viper, your parents were gang executives. The Paladin had a hard time in Venezuela.”

“...”

“So, to the outside world, we’re all trash. Aren’t we?”

The mood in the café plummeted.

Only the quiet sound of the Paladin sipping her coffee remained.

“... Not a subject to bring up in company like this.”

The Paladin glanced at my face.

“Does this mean you intend to treat Death King as one of [us] now?”

“Yes,” the Witch said.

“You may not understand this, but Death King played a decisive role in clearing the Tower.”

“We know that.”

“No, you don’t.”

She shook her head.

“We didn’t lose a single person during this expedition. Not even on floor eleven, where so many hunters participated. All of that was thanks to the strategies and tactics Death King gave me.”

The hunters’ gazes converged on me.

Hmm.

“That is true.”

“I...”

The Witch parted her lips.

“Want to make this man a hero who represents our Tower.”

Silence settled over the café.

The Witch looked at each hunter around the table in turn.

“Count, you love money too much.”

“True enough. I can’t deny it.”

“Inquisitor, you’ve killed too many people.”

“Yes! They were necessary sacrifices!”

“Paladin, you hate receiving attention at all.”

“That’s simply my personality.”

“And Viper, you...”

“Huh? What?”

“... I’m sorry. You’re too ugly.”

“...”

Viper opened and closed his mouth, looking deeply wronged. But soon, he hung his head.

He was a portrait of middle-aged sorrow.

“As we all know, the Sword Star is an old man obsessed with nothing but swords.”

“Hmm.”

“And I won’t do, because I often need to operate behind the scenes.”

Having surveyed everyone at the table, the Witch finally turned to me.

“Death King, on the other hand, doesn’t have any public image yet. With some effort, we can turn him into the perfect hero. This is an opportunity. A chance to revamp the Tower’s image.”

“I see.”

The Inquisitor stroked his chin.

“We’re old faces, so it’s true we’ve lost some of our appeal! We keep publishing magazines with news from the hunter world, but sales in the outside world are steadily declining!”

“Yes, that’s exactly what I mean.”

“Then we ought to start cultivating his image today!”

With a little heave, the Inquisitor stood up.

Then he began circling me like a puppy.

“Hmm, you are a little short. That’s all right! As you can see from me, flattering photographs can compensate for everything!”

“Uh...”

Wait, wasn’t emphasizing how tiny he was part of his appeal?

A broad smile blossomed on the little hunter’s little face.

“[Death King: A Small Man with a Burning Heart]. A slogan like that should be a hit!”

Before I could say anything, the hunters closed in around me.

The Witch, the Count, Viper, and the Paladin.

Regardless of affiliation, they all came closer and inspected me from head to toe.

“Just to be sure, are you seeing anyone at present?”

“Uh... No.”

“Who have you dated since entering the Tower?”

“No one.”

“So there’s no danger of a romantic scandal. Excellent!”

I had no idea what was so excellent about that.

The top-ranked hunters began whispering among themselves.

“I’ve been watching him closely, and he looks a little shifty when he smiles. So I’m thinking we should go with a mysterious persona. He’s good at keeping a straight face, so that should work.”

“But having no romantic partner at all is a problem,” the Paladin said.

“We may need to fabricate a romance. Otherwise, outsiders will start spreading nonsense again...”

“Don’t worry. I’ll take care of that.”

“Oh! A story of love blossoming during five days of desperate battle together? Ahaha, wonderful! We can create exactly the sort of story people love!”

“How about saying he donated a considerable portion of his earnings to orphanages? I’ve been making anonymous donations regularly for an occasion like this. Let’s say they were actually Death King’s.”

“Yes. Please do, Count.”

What?

What was happening right now?

“Let’s call a photographer first! Time for a photo shoot!”

The Inquisitor smiled brightly.

“Call all the designers too. We’ll have to distribute at least one photograph to the press today anyway. We already have several videos of the floor-eleven battle, so I’ll release those online at the right moment!”

No.

Hold on.

“Um, everyone...”

“Don’t you worry.”

The Witch cut me off with a smile.

It was a smile that spoke of years of experience.

“Death King, you don’t need to do anything. We’ll handle everything. You... Yes. Just keep doing what you’ve been doing.”

“But you said I’d have a mysterious persona. Didn’t that mean I wouldn’t need designers and things?”

“Just for today. Please.”

The Witch demurely clasped her hands.

“Everyone in the world wants to know about you. One photo. Let’s take just one photo to show them, all right? It’ll be fine, Death King. The designers under exclusive contract with us are amazing.”

Thirty minutes later, I learned that it was absolutely not just one photo.

“Look this way, please!”

CLICK!

Nearly ten designers descended on me, dressing me and styling my hair. Every time they changed my clothes or touched up my hair, the photographer’s flash went off.

“Yes, very good. Now hold the dagger! Like a wolf stalking its prey in the undergrowth!”

“No... Wait...”

“Excellent!”

CLICK!

The hunters huddled behind the photographer. They inspected my poses with hawk-like eyes, whispering among themselves.

“Doesn’t a suit look surprisingly good on him?”

“Perhaps we should give him a slightly mischievous feel.”

“No! I’ve already claimed the mischievous persona!”

“True. What to do... How about a young man burning with a spirit of adventure?”

“Let’s go with that.”

CLICK!

“Excellent!”

Excellent, my ass.

“Pffft! Pwah, pfft! Hahahahaha!”

The attendant spirit had been rolling around in midair for a while now.

One hour passed, then two, with no end to the shoot in sight. Finally, my patience snapped.

“I’m not doing this! I quit!”

I took off the suit and flung it onto the floor.

“A hunter just needs to work hard at climbing the Tower! Who cares about public image and photo shoots? Wasting your time on this nonsense is why you spent years getting nowhere, unable to clear even floor ten!”

Silence.

Had my heartfelt words gotten through? The air turned chilly. Every hunter, including the Witch, studied my face.

Then they nodded.

“... That line wasn’t bad.”

“Hmm. Truly a young man burning with a spirit of adventure!”

“Let’s make this issue’s slogan [A Hunter Is One Who Climbs the Tower].”

“We had that kind of passion in our twenties too...”

They hadn’t gotten through at all.

“Oh, forget it! I came here to discuss floor twenty. I’ll give you all the rights to floors eleven through nineteen, so please make floor twenty my land!”

The hunters nodded again.

“A selfless persona would be good too.”

“How about this for tomorrow’s newspaper feature? [Death King Makes Surprise Announcement: Rights to Floors Eleven Through Nineteen to Be Shared Among All Hunters. Says Clearing the Tower Is Reward Enough.]”

“I agree!”

“And a second-page article saying [Death King Revealed to Be a Regular Donor to Orphanages] would be appropriate.”

“Yes. Let’s say we presented floor twenty to him as a token of our gratitude and respect.”

“Perfect! Ah, what a beautiful finish!”

It was hopeless.

They weren’t listening to a damn word I said.

These people were completely preoccupied with turning me into a hero.

“Give up, young man,” the Sword Star said bluntly.

The elderly swordsman stood with his back against a pillar.

“The same thing happened when I reached rank one. They told me older men could be stylish too, that I ought to grow my beard differently. I heard every suggestion imaginable.”

Good God.

“Those children want to show the outside world that [we, too, are living well with our heads held high]. A kind of inferiority complex,” the old man murmured.

“They came to the Tower after abandoning everything in the outside world anyway. What could leave them with such bitter regrets...?”

The Sword Star turned to leave.

“Let’s go.”

“Pardon?”

“If we stay here, it’ll never end. After photographs, they’ll suggest a video. After the video, they’ll suggest preparing a press conference. That’s what they’re like. Unless you escape now, you’ll lose the entire day.”

A horrifying prospect.

Without the slightest hesitation, I said,

“Let’s get out of here!”

“A wise decision.”

We channeled aura into our toes and ran. Someone shouted “Ah!” behind us, but we didn’t stop.

“Death King!” the Witch shouted.

“We’re holding a press conference tomorrow, so come back in the morning if you can! Stay out of sight! Use the rooftops to escape! Be careful!”

The attendant spirit cackled.

“Hey, she’s not an angel or a goddess. She’s more like your mom, isn’t she?”

She really was.

Not that I knew much about what a mother was like.

4

Before we knew it, sunset had fallen over the world.

As the Witch advised, we escaped over the rooftops. Looking down, I could see hundreds of people still gathered outside the café.

And, as a bonus, the place was crawling with television reporters.

‘I’d have been in serious trouble if I’d gone out the front door!’

We leaped swiftly across roofs stained red by the sunset.

We stopped at the bell tower in the square.

The guard watching the tower, busy fiddling with his smartphone, belatedly recognized us.

“Gasp! S-Sword Star, sir!”

“Hmm.”

The Sword Star landed lightly on the bell tower.

“My apologies, but could you give us a moment alone?”

“Ah, well... That’s...”

“Five minutes will suffice.”

The young guard floundered. A living legend was asking him to leave; of course he was flustered. Then his eyes met mine, and widened.

“Are you Death King?”

“Ah, yes.”

“Wow. Wow! I’ve never seen you in person before. Wow! Amazing!”

The guard hurriedly rummaged through his bag. Out came a romance novel. Apparently, he had brought various things to pass the time on duty.

“Th-this is the only paper I have with me! Could I please have your autograph?”

The Sword Star took the novel with practiced ease.

“Do you have a pen?”

“H-here!”

“What is your name?”

“I-I haven’t received an epithet yet...!”

The elderly swordsman signed with a neat flourish.

The guard accepted the autograph like an innocent boy, then turned to me.

For some reason, his eyes were sparkling with extraordinary brightness.

“C-could I ask you too, Death King?”

“Uh.”

My autograph?

“I’ve never given an autograph before...”

“It’s my lifelong wish! Please!”

Before I knew it, the novel and pen were in my hands.

A lifelong wish to get an autograph? How little weight did his life carry?

Feeling awkward, I looked down at the novel. The Sword Star’s autograph was already there. I lifted the pen to sign, then suddenly realized I had never written the name ‘Death King’ before.

By the time that realization struck, his handwriting and mine were already side by side.

+

Sword Star.

Death King.

+

“...”

“Th-thank you! Thank you so much!”

The guard bowed repeatedly. He quickly took the novel back, as though afraid the signatures might disappear.

As he took it, a strange emotion came over me. Even I had trouble identifying what it was.

“Um...”

“I’ll make it a family heirloom! Don’t worry! I’ll never sell it to anyone! Ah, thank you both so much! Have a wonderful weekend!”

The guard hurried down the bell tower’s stairs. His excited cries of “Yes! Jackpot!” faded farther and farther below.

When his voice finally disappeared, only a patch of red sunset remained in the bell tower.

And the quiet breathing of two people.

“...”

For a while, neither of us spoke.

Then.

“Um, Sword Star, sir.”

“Listen, young man.”

Our voices collided and trailed off. We had started speaking at the same time.

The awkward silence, however, did not last long.

I spoke.

“To you, I must appear to have killed an enormous number of people. A mass murderer who must be brought to justice.”

I looked at the Sword Star calmly.

“But when you look in a mirror, you will also see a mass murderer who has killed an enormous number of people. Yourself.”

The Sword Star was looking at the sunset, not at me.

“Yet you would not seek to condemn yourself. That must be because you have a clear standard for killing someone. Namely, [punish those who have harmed many people].”

I continued speaking to his profile, washed in twilight.

“I, too, have acted according to a clear standard. Mine is [punish those who will harm many people].”

This was something I had been preparing ever since I lied to the Sword Star about being a prophet.

“If you kill someone because they have killed many people in the past, then I have killed people because they will kill many people in the future.”

A carefully crafted lie, prepared specifically for him.

“So, Sword Star, you and I are essentially walking the same path—”

“Young man.”

But before I could finish, the old man called to me quietly.

“You needn’t try to make me understand that way.”

Hmm.

“Sir, I...”

“Young man.”

At his quiet call, I closed my mouth.

Still, still keeping his gaze fixed on the sunset, the old man spoke.

“I am different from the other hunters.”

At first, the remark seemed unrelated.

“The Black Witch, the Count, the Inquisitor, Viper, the Paladin... All children who suffered terribly in the outside world. But I am different. I was born wanting for nothing and lived wanting for nothing.”

Markus Kallenberg.

I knew the old man before me came from an illustrious family. Or rather, I had looked it up while researching him extensively. A distinguished family renowned in Northern Europe, supposedly.

“By the time the Tower appeared, I had already established myself. I had run a business, married, had children, and watched those children have granddaughters and grandsons. I had already achieved all the success I could.”

The Sword Star’s voice was composed.

“But a question arose.”

“What question?”

“Whether the success I had achieved was truly due entirely to my own ability. One day, I simply began to wonder.”

The old man slowly drew his sword from its sheath.

“Was it merely thanks to being born into a good family?”

The sunset reflected on it.

Though the sword had cut nothing, it was red.

“Was I nothing more than a bird born into a good family, given a good education, meeting good friends, raised on nothing but the finest things? I pride myself on having achieved everything on my own... But perhaps that is merely the delusion of someone trapped in a cage.”

The Sword Star said,

“No.”

His voice was sharp as a blade.

“That cannot be.”

It carried a heart as red as the sunset.

“I was certainly born enjoying good things. But even so, I took pride in having stood tall on my own. I wanted to prove that my pride was not a delusion.”

“... So that’s why you came to the Tower.”

“Hmm.”

The old man nodded.

His wrinkles were deep and pronounced.

“Those who enter the Tower can never return to the outside world. I have only myself. Here, with no family name, no family, no associates to support me... I wanted to prove my life’s worth with my own strength.”

“But,” the Sword Star murmured.

“It seems I let my guard down without even realizing it.”

“...”

“Skill card, open. Reveal.”

A brilliant light flared.

A silver card rose from his hand.

+

[Detective's Insight]

Rank: B-

Effect: Allows you to see another person’s kill count. Indirect killings are not included. Only killings carried out with clear intent are counted.

※However, the method of killing cannot be determined.

+

“I was foolish.”

The Sword Star looked down at his skill card.

“Despite resolving to trust only my own eyes and hands... Somewhere along the way, without even noticing, I began relying on a [skill]. Rather than seeing with my own eyes, I saw through the skill. Rather than judging for myself, I blindly trusted its judgment.”

Then.

“Young man, I will ask you one last time.”

The old man’s blue eyes turned toward me.

“Have you ever killed even a single innocent person?”

I see.

So that was why he had told me I didn’t need to make him understand. Now I understood.

Yes. Understanding happens in the head, just as it had for me a moment ago.

No matter how elaborate a lie is, it can only ensnare someone’s mind. It cannot capture their heart.

“No.”

Not understanding, but persuasion.

“I never have, Sword Star.”

Just as I had when addressing the Tower’s Pillars.

I spoke through my heart.

“And I never will.”

The Sword Star quietly closed his eyes.

As though turning my expression and voice over in his mind.

Silence passed.

Then.

“... Hah!”

The card flew.

A red blade sliced through it in midair.

The card split in two.

Golden sunset shone through the gap.

“I will trust my own eyes.”

Then the card became particles of light and scattered.

The skill had been destroyed.

“You’ve worked hard these past five days. Thank you for indulging an old man’s stubbornness.”

The Sword Star sheathed his sword.

“It’s rather late to say this, but clearing floors twelve through nineteen with you was quite enjoyable. Rest well today. Tomorrow, floor twenty-one will open right after the press conference.”

The old man stepped against the floor.

Just before leaping onto another building’s roof, he glanced back at me.

“I look forward to seeing what you do on the next floor, Death King.”

Then he vanished from the bell tower in an instant.

“...”

I stood there blankly for a long time.

Finally, I spoke, still bewildered.

“Sword Emperor, just now...”

“Yeah.”

“Did the Sword Star just acknowledge me?”

“Looked that way.”

Relief washed over me.

“Wow...”

My knees went weak, and I slowly sank down. The stone floor was cool. I stared dazedly at the sky, which had stopped reddening and begun to darken.

“Wow, it’s really... really over. Floor twenty is mine now. The guild leaders will handle the press... Yes. Everything really is finished.”

The attendant spirit chuckled.

“Finished, my ass. Anyone listening would think you’d cleared floor fifty.”

“It feels like I cleared floor ninety.”

“Tsk, tsk. Zombie, sometimes I can’t tell whether you’ve got guts or none at all.”

“Honestly, sometimes I can’t tell either...”

In any case, I had wrapped up everything through floor twenty.

Just as that thought filled me with a peculiar sense of satisfaction—

[The Goddess of Protection marvels at your achievements!]

A voice I hadn’t heard in some time rang out.

“Huh?”

Come to think of it.

The Goddess of Protection had remained quiet even after I defeated the Demon King of Autumn Rain. In fact, aside from when I first cleared floor twelve, she had always been silent.

[The Goddess of Protection acknowledges all your deeds!]

Messages came one after another, as though she meant to vent her frustration over all that silence.

[The Goddess of Protection believes that, although your claim to be her apostle was a lie, you are more than qualified to become one in truth.]

[The Goddess of Protection grants you permission to continue using her!]

But something strange had slipped in.

“... Continue using you? What does that mean?”

[The Goddess of Protection feels hurt and asks what you mean, given how well you have gotten along together so far.]

That made even less sense.

“What do you mean, we’ve gotten along together?”

[The Goddess of Protection tells you to look down.]

I looked down.

There was nothing but the stone floor.

[The Goddess of Protection tells you to look a little farther left.]

I shifted my gaze left.

There were my legs and waist.

At my waist hung the sheathed legendary weapon said to have been bestowed by the goddess upon the Aegim Empire’s founding emperor: Lefanta Aegim’s Holy Guardian Sword.

“... Wait. Could it be?”

[The Goddess of Protection recommends focusing your gaze on your waist.]

An unsettling feeling came over me.

I suddenly recalled the battle against the Demon King’s army on floor twelve.

A message had definitely announced that the Goddess of Protection was squeezing out the last of her power. As soon as it ended, something in my hand had emitted white light.

There had been no other miracle.

In other words.

“No, wait. Don’t tell me the [Goddess of Protection] mentioned now and then while we fought the Demon King...”

Hardly daring to believe it, I asked,

“You... Were you a ‘sword’ all along?”

A moment later.

The voice answered.

[The Goddess of Protection confirms it!]

Good God.

Apparently, the holy sword I had been using really was a sacred sword.