Chapter 57 - Choi Jiwon Is Too Strong (8)

Looking at Archangel Raphael, dressed in flowing clothes of predominantly white, I became certain of one thing.

"... Just as I thought."

These bastards were no angels. Lackeys of an evil god, more like.

I had once seen a post on a forum titled "What Angels Really Look Like." According to it, angels were bizarre wheels within wheels covered in eyeballs, or monsters with no fewer than four faces and six wings.

But the angel before me was a beautiful, finely featured being. Just as I thought. There was no way a biblical angel would look like...

"You're only getting half the picture!"

One of the baby angels that had been energetically blowing its trumpet suddenly interrupted, apparently having read something in my expression.

"Those 'bizarre forms' you're thinking of are only some of the forms angels take! Very few angels appear in nonhuman form! Most angels in the Bible appear as handsome human men! Besides, high-ranking angels like Lord Raphael aren't bound by appearances, so they can change them whenever they please..."

"That's enough. You're making our climber uncomfortable."

"Oh, understood, Lord Raphael!"

The baby angel, which had been sharing far too much information, returned to its place and resumed playing its trumpet with gusto.

After watching it go, Archangel Raphael turned back to me.

"It is true that I chose an appearance others would find agreeable. If it makes you uncomfortable, I will change it."

Raphael smiled as he spoke.

It was what people often described as a gentle smile, the kind that warmed your heart just to look at it.

Harmless, warm, and somehow holy.

The image of a nun tending a newborn in an otherwise empty church flashed through my mind.

"... It doesn't matter."

Feeling myself about to relax despite myself, I clenched my teeth and forced my eyes wide.

I had to stay sharp. Standing before me was a lackey of the evil god who had turned Earth into a complete mess.

He hadn't come here to congratulate me out of genuine goodwill.

This was, essentially, a game-breaking bug. The sort of situation where you'd get a message saying, 'GM Raphael: A bug preventing further progress has been detected. We apologize for the inconvenience.'

Naturally, a bug meant the administrators had a fire to put out. If I decided to get malicious here, I could break Floor 2 entirely. That was the only reason he'd stepped in. I couldn't afford to misunderstand.

As I was busy stoking my hostility, Raphael spoke.

"Hmm... There was a great deal I wanted to discuss, but this doesn't seem to be the right moment."

He had been staring at my face when he suddenly stretched his right hand straight out.

"E-eek!"

"Hold still. If you've done wrong, shouldn't you at least clean up after yourself properly?"

In the blink of an eye, an angel was dangling from his right hand, caught by the scruff of the neck.

It was a familiar face: the angel who held up the sign in the square and explained the basic rules.

"Junho, I would like to discuss making changes to Floor 2. Would that be all right? As things stand, it can no longer serve its intended function."

Raphael addressed me warmly, still holding the sign-carrying angel in one hand.

"..."

Instead of answering, I gave a slight nod.

Just as I'd thought, he'd come in person because he wanted something. From here on, I had to keep my wits about me.

Our current situation was extremely favorable. Choi Jiwon had gained a wealth of combat experience, all the residents had been freed, and we'd even drawn out an Archangel who supposedly managed the tower.

Nor could I be certain I could recreate this situation, no matter how many times I regressed. I had to give every moment my best, with the intention of moving on to Floor 3 this time.

Rather than beat around the bush, I decided to get straight to the point. That should throw even an Archangel off a little.

"... Change Floor 2."

"Very well. I was planning to make some changes to its rules when the time came anyway."

Contrary to my expectations, Raphael agreed readily.

"What you object to is being forced to commit evil deeds to earn good rewards, correct? I will revise the rules. We will abolish the token boxes... and require climbers to demonstrate a certain level of strength to receive Gold-grade rewards or higher. Oh, by abolishing the token boxes, I mean that we will leave the residents alone, like so-called NPCs."

"..."

"Furthermore, all three of you who played the principal roles in improving the city will receive Diamond rewards. The Diamond token is a hidden reward, so you will be getting three times as much. Ordinarily, the highest-grade reward is awarded to only one person... but consider this my thanks for your splendid solution."

Raphael waved his free hand through the air, and a message window appeared before my eyes.

<Floor 2>

-Clear Condition: Complete a task assigned by a city resident and return to the square with that resident to clear the floor. However, you must not leave the city limits. Get along with your fellow climbers!

-Addition 1. The criteria for violence have been relaxed. Physically obstructing another person's movement is no longer possible.

-Addition 2. To receive Gold-grade rewards or higher, you must complete tasks assigned by the city's instructors. You can earn experience points while completing these tasks.

"I will bring several powerful individuals to Floor 2 to serve as instructors. They will be a great help to climbers who lack combat experience. While I was at it, I also relaxed the criteria for violence so people can no longer block the roads. Mere contact will not be recognized as violence. Is this satisfactory?"

"..."

This was nothing like the compromise I'd envisioned. I'd thought I would be walking a tightrope from this point onward...

Yet now that the proposed revisions were out in the open, they were good. Everything I wanted was there.

So good, in fact, that it made me suspicious.

The 'instructors' the angel mentioned, in particular... seemed to address exactly what had been troubling me.

Because I had cleared the tutorial alone, I had been worried about everyone else, who hadn't had a chance to gain levels or combat experience.

I could sense a great deal of goodwill from Archangel Raphael. I didn't know whether that feeling was the same as human goodwill, but he was undeniably treating me in a friendly manner.

It had been like that since Floor 1. They provided all sorts of facilities. As long as you had the will to train, the ways you could use them were literally endless.

Floor 2 outright prohibited violence between climbers, meaning there was no danger of death at all unless you committed a crime.

"... What are you thinking?"

And that goodwill made me feel unbearably itchy and uncomfortable, as though I were wearing a stiff wool sweater.

"Why are you being so nice to us?"

"Hmm..."

Raphael closed his eyes and considered the question for a moment, then slowly opened them and looked straight at me.

"I think you may have misunderstood something... Floor 2 was designed entirely for your benefit. More precisely, it was created to inspire you climbers to resist and to keep moving forward. Its very design is deliberately unjust."

"... What?"

"What do you suppose the existence of a hidden achievement means? Did you never find it strange that the city's ruler carried her weakness dangling at her waist?"

"..."

"You seem to understand."

Once I calmed down and thought it through... Raphael was right.

If you questioned Floor 2's unjust system and had the will to change it, then followed the clues scattered here and there, step by step...

It really was designed to lead you to the city's ruler in the end.

Besides, if the city's ruler hadn't worn the pouch containing her token box dangling from her waist—if she'd kept the box tucked deep inside her armor instead—there would have been no way to beat her.

She was so powerful that even Choi Jiwon, who was absurdly overpowered herself, couldn't put up any resistance. It was fair to say we had no chance of defeating someone like that head-on.

In other words, Raphael wasn't just spouting nonsense to get out of a crisis.

That didn't guarantee it was the whole truth, though. Wasn't mixing a little falsehood into the truth supposed to work best?

"Even knowing you will hate me, I will continue to give. Human love sets conditions because it is love between equals. But divine love flows from above. It can love without conditions."

Raphael spread his arms and smiled gently. He was claiming that everything he'd done had really been a matter of taking the thankless role for humanity's sake.

"..."

Perhaps because I was harboring doubts, his smile now felt a little off, unlike before. Awkward, maybe.

These bastards were hiding something after all. White clothes and beautiful faces weren't enough to make someone trustworthy.

But instead of pointing that out, I decided to change the subject. For now, it was wiser to act as though I was somewhat convinced.

"But... what about the residents?"

Archangel Raphael had created conditions on Floor 2 that left the residents no choice but to suffer.

He'd just gone on and on about loving humanity, yet the residents were treated worse than livestock out on the streets. His words didn't add up.

The upturned corners of Raphael's mouth stiffened slightly.

After a moment's consideration, he spoke in the voice of a teacher gently reasoning with a student.

"Junho. Just because they look the same doesn't mean they are the same kind of people."

"... What's that supposed to mean?"

"Just as I have taken human form without being human, they, too, have human forms without being humans like you. A detailed explanation would be complicated... but they are beings of a far lower order than you climbers."

"..."

"I won't force you not to grow attached to them. But that is simply the truth."

I wanted to demand who had decided on that bullshit 'order,' but the answer was obvious without asking.

God, of course.

Everything happening in this tower had to have been orchestrated by that supposedly omnipotent, omniscient bastard.

What the hell was he after? Was giving me the power of Regression part of his plan, too?

While I hung my head, my thoughts in turmoil, Raphael turned and slowly walked away from me.

"Well, it seems we have finished our discussion... I will wake the others. This has been a productive conversation, Junho."

"..."

I clenched my teeth, my gaze still fixed on the ground.

Fine. God's intentions or whatever—let's put aside questions I couldn't answer no matter how much I thought about them.

What really sickened me was that I'd been dancing to their tune from beginning to end.

The tower had been created according to God's intentions. Everything on Floor 2 had gone according to Archangel Raphael's intentions. Maybe even my Regression ability was part of God's plan.

Seen that way, wasn't I just another puppet being made to perform onstage, no different from the city's residents?

A rush of anger went to my head.

Was it reckless bravado born of being a regressor who didn't fear death, or did I simply have a short temper to begin with?

"You... had better brace yourself. Did you really think you could just file a report and run away?"

"Eek..."

"Wait."

I couldn't let Raphael leave like this.

"What is it?"

Raphael stopped just before entering the pillar of light and looked back at me, still holding the sign-carrying angel in one hand.

"Hand it over."

"... Pardon?"

"Rewards. Give me more."

"..."

"The Diamond reward is basically a bonus you get for subduing the city's ruler in the first place. Simply giving us three of those doesn't square things. As a special reward for a hidden achievement, it feels lacking."

"Didn't I change the city's rules for you instead?"

"You changed those on your own because no one could progress through Floor 2 anymore."

What I really wanted was to smack the Archangel hard across the back of the head...

Realistically, though, picking a fight with him here was out of the question.

I couldn't sense any pressure from him, but in martial arts novels, you couldn't sense anything when the gap in strength was too vast, either. He was an 'Archangel' to begin with. It was reasonable to assume he was a transcendent being.

In short... picking a fight was the worst possible option.

"A special reward."

The best option was to accept the situation and squeeze every last benefit out of it.

"Give me one."

Now that things had come this far, I had no intention of settling for a mere three Diamond rewards.

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