171. Tower of Trials 60th Floor (1)
58th floor of the tower.
They found the path descending to the Demon Realm without much trouble.
Did it take about three days?
Before long, they were standing in front of the door. The real gate leading to the Demon Realm.
“You’re truly amazing.”
Even the Champion Aila had completely thrown up both hands by now.
He was powerful, made up for what they lacked, and even guided them this perfectly all the way to the Demon Realm.
Did they even need to stay on guard anymore?
Honestly, they had learned a lot.
There were no monsters or demons on the way, and the place had been plastered with all kinds of traps and mechanisms, so there had been plenty of training time.
‘HunGyo, was it?’
Every single thing he said felt like years of built-up indigestion clearing away at once.
It was like teachings from someone who had entered her head, looked around, and come back knowing exactly what she was troubled by and what was making her feel stifled!
Not only her, but even the Paladin Commander looked highly satisfied.
“Now, it’s almost time. Get ready.”
Baek Jinwoo grinned and stepped forward.
The Blood Path.
Baek Jinwoo and Rachel, standing at the very front, met each other’s eyes.
As if they had already coordinated beforehand, they each stopped in front of their assigned lever.
3, 2, 1.
“Let’s go.”
Creeeak!
The moment they pulled both levers at the same time,
Rumbleeeee...!
The ground shook, and the heavy sound of metal reverberated through the air.
As the levers locked together, the gigantic door began to open slowly.
“Oh.”
“Ooooooh.”
The paladins who saw it began to grow excited.
Flaaash!
A suffocating crimson light leaked out through the gap.
Whoooosh!
A cold wind brushed past the group, telling them what the scent of the Demon Realm was.
“...That place.”
Aila swallowed hard.
“The Demon Realm....”
It was completely different from any sky they had seen until now.
Everything was dyed blood-red, writhing as if it were a living creature.
Kyaaaaagh!
Kwieeeeeee!
The monstrous screams echoing beneath that sky.
The horrifying shrieks released by countless demons echoed and battered their ears.
Like beasts.
Bizarre cries.
“You’ve all been holding back a lot, haven’t you? Now the real beginning starts.”
Baek Jinwoo released the lever.
59th floor of the tower.
The great war against the demons.
They had to wage a battle of numbers against all those countless monsters.
“Everyone.”
Swish.
When the Champion raised a pure white sheet, holy light began spreading everywhere.
Kieeeeeek!
The screams of the demons exposed to divine power grew even more intense.
“Engrave upon those horrific demons exactly who we are! Chaaaarge!”
“Waaaaaaah!”
“Uwaaaaaaaah!”
Thousands of paladins and tens of thousands of soldiers began charging fearlessly through the gate into the Demon Realm.
* * *
Monsters came rushing in without end.
With the gate to the Demon Realm at the center, if you zoomed out far enough, it looked like hundreds of millions of ants rushing toward a giant piece of prey.
Click!
Baek Jinwoo pressed the video recording button again.
No one knew when they might leave.
Might as well record a scene this magnificent, right?
‘Let’s goooooo!’
Whoosh whoosh whoosh whoosh whoosh!
The moment the gate to the Demon Realm opened, Lamba’s stack reset.
To build it again, she had to swing her staff furiously once more.
Slice.
HunGyo’s sword pierced through a demon’s neck.
Splaaash!
Black blood spurted up.
But through that gap, a giant monster came charging in with its maw wide open.
“Watch out!”
Flash!
Aila’s spear punched a huge hole straight through the giant monster’s body.
As expected.
The two of them worked together perfectly.
‘Right.’
Baek Jinwoo smiled.
‘You need to grow well, so later you can drive your spear into Asmodeus’ heart.’
Aso, Gale Slayer, HunGyo.
All of them took down one enemy with each slash!
Piercing through chests or heads, they fought diligently.
Fwoooooosh!
Explosive Dragon Sorcerer swung her dragon-head staff and put on a fire show in every direction.
The more demons and monsters there were, the happier she was.
Because every single one of them would become a stack for Explosive Dragon Wave!
“Hoo.”
“There really are a ton of them.”
Baek Jinwoo and Rachel watched the battle from the center.
As players, they could not just stand still and watch.
Most were weak monsters or low-ranking demons, but every now and then, some real big ones were mixed in.
Demons who were effectively Asmodeus’ direct subordinates.
They needed to keep a close eye out for their appearance.
That was the key to this 59th floor!
Let’s do this.
* * *
“Haa, huh!”
Aila Lunares exhaled sharply as she swung her spear.
Thrust, stab!
Every sweep of her spear skewered demons like meat on a skewer.
“Hyaaaap!”
And then.
Her main technique unfolded.
Swaaaaaa!
Holy light began gathering at the tip of her spear.
Stab!
The instant it touched a demon’s body,
Kwa-gagagagagaga!
With a powerful holy explosion, even the surrounding enemies were suppressed along with it.
The name of the technique was Heavenly Light Spear Strike!
It carried the meaning of the heavenly realm where God resides.
Indeed, was that why she was the Champion?
Against demons, her power exceeded even HunGyo, Aso, Gale Slayer, and Explosive Dragon Sorcerer.
With light pouring forth endlessly, she did not merely burn the swarming demons, she melted them.
Then, at that moment.
Crackle!
‘Huh?’
A sudden headache struck her.
Her vision shook as if she had been hit by lightning.
‘What is this?’
Like a bolt piercing her mind, a certain scene suddenly surfaced.
Memories vividly reproduced inside her head.
‘...What?’
She could hear the screams of the wailing citizens.
The Holy Kingdom was collapsing.
Between the buildings, cries of despair flowed out without end.
- Stop him! In the name of the holy power, stop Asmodeus, I say!
A fat Holy King was shouting while trembling.
With a desperate voice that sounded as if it might collapse at any moment.
‘Asmodeus?’
Why was that Demon King in the Holy Kingdom... just as her confusion was about to deepen further,
“Get a hold of yourself!”
HunGyo’s voice came from beside her.
Startled!
Her mind snapped back, and next to her she saw a demon baring its fangs at her.
Stab!
HunGyo drove his sword into the creature’s forehead.
Then, splurt!
He pulled it back out.
“Why are you letting your mind wander?”
“...I’m sorry.”
She was sorry, but still, Aila shook her head.
‘What was that scene just now?’
* * *
The strange scenes Aila could not understand continued as time passed.
The visions became more and more detailed, and now she could even feel the emotions within them.
Splurt!
As she cut down a demon, tears streamed from her eyes.
The emotions from the battlefield she was fighting on now faded away, while the emotions of herself crying and wailing beneath a collapsing kingdom grew even stronger.
What was it?
What in the world was it?
Her fingertips trembled.
The visions became as vivid as reality itself, invading her mind.
In the end, she had no choice but to stop fighting.
“What is the matter!”
Sensing that the situation was no ordinary matter, the Paladin Commander approached.
But—
“.....I’ll take a short rest.”
After lowering her spear, she moved toward the center.
Toward where Baek Jinwoo was.
* * *
What is this?
Why is she acting like this?
Aila was not the only one with a question mark floating over her head.
Even Baek Jinwoo could not understand it.
“You look pretty unwell.”
“Is it a cold?”
When Rachel tilted her head,
“Like hell it’s a cold.”
Baek Jinwoo snapped back.
There was definitely something going on. Seeing her cry her eyes out, she looked emotionally overwhelmed.
‘For now.’
It did not matter much at the moment.
They had a fairly good chance of winning this battle.
Fwoooooosh!
Because Explosive Dragon’s momentum was far more absurdly powerful than expected.
“Wow, that’s refreshing, isn’t it?”
—Thank you.
Explosive Dragon Sorcerer’s flames danced.
The momentum of the gigantic fire dragon circling around the area gradually widened its range.
Because of that, even the paladins found the battle getting easier and easier.
Swipe, swipe.
After stroking Explosive Dragon Sorcerer’s hair,
“Hey, are you okay?”
He approached Aila, but she was still clutching her head in agony.
‘Ha.’
She really could not be like this here.
Wake up already and lift your spear!
Asmodeus is coming out soon!
* * *
Aila saw countless scenes.
And she realized.
‘I......’
No.
‘We .......... have already been destroyed.’
By Asmodeus.
According to her memories, that was definitely what had happened.
Far from reclaiming the three cities, they had remained isolated within the kingdom and slowly self-destructed.
‘That bastard.’
Asmodeus had enjoyed that sight to the fullest before appearing late.
Ah...
His touch had been like darkness itself.
As if a gigantic shadow had descended over the entire kingdom, it devoured everything.
That pathetic little bit of holy power?
It went out like a snuffed candle with just one breath from the fully manifested Asmodeus.
God..... has abandoned us.
Crack!
The Holy King’s head was smashed, and his heavy body fell helplessly.
Aila watched all of it with hopeless eyes, and then......
Slowly.
She raised her spear and struck Asmodeus with a final blow...... no, she had tried to.
But—there was no way the tip of her spear could ever reach him.
Right.
‘I definitely died then.’
Her heart had been pierced by his claw, and after watching her own blood pour down, she had lost consciousness.
Then what was this scene?
There was one thing that had changed.
‘Baek Jinwoo, and the one called Rachel.’
People who had never existed in her memories.
Which meant......
‘A chance.’
A chance to change fate had come.
She did not know why. Perhaps it was a chance given by God.
Once her thoughts settled, her violently shaken heart calmed as well.
Even the headache began to fade.
Aila opened her eyes and rose to her feet. Then she saw a man looking at her with deeply worried eyes.
“Baek Jinwoo.”
“Yes?”
“...You’ve been saying it for a while now. That I need to drive my spear into Asmodeus’ heart.”
“I did say that.”
Baek Jinwoo nodded.
Then—
“Teach me.”
Tightly.
The momentum of the now clear-headed Aila began to change.
Before, it had simply felt like she wanted to destroy evil.
Now, desperation was mixed into it.
Her determination to save someone had grown stronger.
‘The past must never be repeated.’
If she could stop just that......she was willing to do anything.
If she had to sell her soul to someone, perhaps? She was even prepared for that.
In response,
Flaaaaaash!
Her holy power began to rage even more violently.
“How do I kill that demon?”
* * *
—I do not know why, but it seems she has awakened, my lord.
“Awakened?”
Baek Jinwoo’s eyes widened.
What was that?
—This is a phenomenon even I am seeing for the first time. To recite the information being organized in my mind...... it seems that when S-grade summons reach certain conditions, they can undergo something called ‘awakening’—
“...Really?”
He had been playing Battle of Summoners for ten years, and this was the first time he had heard of it.
‘Well, the only S-grade I ever had was the Ruination Dragon, right?’
“Rachel.”
“Hm?”
“Do you happen to know about awakening?”
“....No?”
“Okay.”
Rachel did not know either.
Which meant?
This was a phenomenon humanity was encountering for the very first time.
‘But.’
Was Aila a summon?
She might be.
Just as the paladins here could be summoned by someone, Aila might also be a summon.
That possibility was high.
Of course, since she was S-grade, she probably would not appear even if she died.
—Once awakened, it seems their stats themselves change. Even at the same grade, the difference in level becomes enormous depending on whether they have awakened or not......
“Hmm. More severe than the difference from runes?”
—If things go well, it might be.
“Huh.”
Then another question arose.
S-grade summons can awaken.
Then what about EX-grade?
‘I’ll have to find out little by little.’
Anyway, Aila was still staring blankly at him.
In a rather burdensome way.
“She’s asking me to explain things properly, you know?”
—Understood.
Shing.
HunGyo sheathed his sword.
After all, Explosive Dragon Sorcerer was currently taking the lead in carrying the war forward.
—Since Asmodeus will appear before long, I shall keep the lesson brief.
HunGyo’s eyes gleamed.
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