bookpower Chapter 127: The Demonic Realm (3)
Chapter 127: The Demonic Realm (3)
Chapter 127: The Demonic Realm (3)
“I see.” The Constellation Murderer nodded. “I now understand the logic behind your actions. You concluded that it’s impossible to defeat me on your own, so you brought in foreign forces. You seemed to be a simple beginner who just arrived at the fiftieth floor, so I thought you wouldn’t pull off something like this...”
Swooooosh!
Even as the Constellation Murderer spoke, countless meteors tore through the gray sky. They had been shot from extremely far away and made up of an enormous amount of mana.
The meteors were getting closer and closer, but the Constellation Murderer didn’t seem to care. He simply scribbled down in his diary using his fountain pen.
“This is my mistake. From now on, even when dealing with beginners, I’ll keep the possible intervention of powerful foreign forces in mind.”
Swoosh, swoosh!
“The fuck? Run!”
“Are the Spiders high today?!”
The nearby Hunters reacted faster than the Constellation Murderer. They immediately tore up teleportation magic scrolls, a seemingly must-have item for those living on the fiftieth floor. The bald bartender did the same. Right before he ran away, he turned to scream at the Constellation Murderer and me.
“Hey! Constellation Murderer! I’m going to charge you for renovations again, so don’t forget to write that down! You better pay for the scroll too!”
“Okay. I wrote it down.” The Constellation Murderer closed the diary. “Because I made a vow, I’ll do my best to protect you, stranger.”
The meteors were right in front of us.
Thud! Booom!
An indiscriminate bombardment destroyed the streets. Just as the storm of destruction was about to hit the open-air bar, someone grabbed my wrist.
“Maximum Vision and Auditory Enhancement. I give up one hour of my memories in return,” the Constellation Murderer muttered.
And then a miracle happened.
The meteors were so big they covered the sky, but the Constellation Murderer dodged the barrage by only taking a slight step aside. One step, then two. Every time he pushed and pulled me by the wrist, a meteor narrowly passed us by.
An angry voice rang out from the sky. “Huh? Hey, you, Star Sign freak! What are you meddling in for?! Get lost!! The guy you’re with right now has bad blood with the Magic Tower! Unless you want to get on the bad side of the Great Staff, just move on already!”
“First, I ask you to resolve the conflict by having a conversation.”
The Constellation Murderer waved his right hand. The dust cloud created by the meteor shower cleared all at once. Both he and I were completely fine.
“What fucking conversation do you want us to have? Get lost, you nuthead!”
“I have to protect this stranger no matter what. That means I need to make sure the stranger is healthy both physically and mentally. There is no room for compromise here.” The Constellation Murderer took out the diary again with his left hand and read it. “The Magic Tower is an extremely selfish group. Because they are so selfish, they can negotiate based on their own interests and losses. I can cause serious damage to you. Negotiate with me.”
“That guy is our mortal enemy! MORTAL ENEMY!”
“All problems can be solved by having a rational conversation.”
“Hey! Hey! Guys! Does anyone know how many days of memories the Constellation Murderer has right now? Report, right now!”
In the sky, tens of thousands of wizards were riding on broomsticks. One of them answered, “My name is Hongboseok, and I’m part of the Permanent Surveillance Team! Chief, the Constellation Murderer’s memory count is at seven days!”
“Fuck. Of all possible days, he had to have all his seven days worth of memories today?”
The sound of teeth grinding echoed.@@@@
“That doesn’t matter! Eliminate the Constellation freak first! As of now, the Magic Tower is in a state of general mobilization! From the Thumb to the Little Finger, everyone in the Magic Tower must hunt down the Sword Emperor and the Constellation Murderer! I repeat, you punks! This is a general mobilization order!”
“I guess negotiations are off the table,” the Constellation Murderer muttered, flipping over the diary in his left hand. “Search: Magic Tower. Advanced Search: Combat. Keyword: Counter.”
The Constellation Murderer glanced at the diary and nodded. He took out a rubber band—a cheap, yellow rubber band that was common in the outside world—and tied up his long silver hair.
I watched him slowly tying his hair right next to me. It probably only took two seconds. However, I knew that short moment was one of the few rituals he still remembered.
“Time to fight,” the Constellation Murderer said quietly.
The tens of thousands of wizards in the sky were ready to take action.
“Kill them!”
“Flagholders, surround them!”
But not all the wizards charged.
“Singers, sing from the back!”
“Yes, Chief!”
The ring-like formations of wizards unfolded in the gray sky. There were a lot of them. Hundreds of wizards formed five circles and sang in unison. The chief’s formation joined them, and a six-layered melody rang out.
The Guardian mused.
—Oh. It’s been a while since I saw their Celestial Shadow Chant.
Celestial Shadow Chant?
—You see the five towers over there, right? A Constellation is sealed in the basement of each tower. Well, that’s what these guys claim, but “confined” is a better word. Anyway, those wizards borrow and manifest the power of these sealed Constellations in the form of a song. The effects are...
[Warning: You have been designated as the primary target of Area of Effect attacks.]
[Warning: Your aura damage has been reduced by fifty percent!]
[Warning: Your magic damage has been reduced by fifty percent!]
[Warning: Your mental defense has been reduced by fifty percent!]
[Shiny is unsure when or why he became like that.]
The Magic Tower’s wizard army was exhausted now. Their formation broke down completely. At first, they repeatedly attacked the Constellation Murderer in an intricately-designed formation, but it looked like they reached their limit. The wizards only sporadically struck back.
“Ch-Chief, see? We can’t take on the Constellation Murderer fully doped with one week of his memories...”
“We did officially declare that he’s too OP in this state...”
“If you use any more of our mana, the damage will be enormous!”
“The surveillance teams have been messaging us like crazy. Chief, the Constellations have sensed something unusual and are keeping a close eye on us. There is a high chance that they will take advantage of how weak we are right now and initiate an invasion.”
The woman who appeared to be the leader of the wizards gritted her teeth. She took off her cone hat and crumpled it with her left hand, then glared at me with formidable anger in her eyes. “Sword Emperor... Sword Emperor, Sword Emperor, Sword Emperor!!!”
The Guardian shrugged.
—Wow, my death isn’t enough to kill my popularity. Look, Zombie. This is why being too awesome can become a problem.
“So you now have an alliance with the Constellation Murderer! I get it! Look forward to our next encounter! This was just a brawl, but we, the Magic Tower, will hunt you down for sure next time! We’ll stop at nothing!”
The wizards looked fed up.
“Wow... Chief, that’s a typical line from a loser who runs away...”
“Quiet. Don’t get on her nerves right now. She’ll turn you into a frog and eat you.”
The woman threw a punch into the air. “I’ll crush your ass next time!”
As the wizards all scattered and turned back, the Constellation Murderer said, “Wait, Magic Tower Master.”
“What?”
“I still have twenty-three hours of memories left. If I use twenty-two hours to strengthen my attack, it’s possible to destroy one of your towers.”
“Are you threatening us now?”
“Yes,” the Constellation Murderer said. “According to my records, you care a lot about saving face, Magic Tower Master. The fact that you couldn’t get rid of me even after issuing a general mobilization order is already a pretty big loss, but it’s nothing compared to losing your towers. Think carefully about my threat.”
The Magic Tower Master’s face crumpled.
“For the next seven days, I forbid any attack or manipulation involving me and this man. By attack and manipulation, I mean all actions that can harm us through both indirect and direct methods. I won’t allow you to make decisions anymore. If you can’t help yourself to make a move, ask me or him before you do anything. We’ll be making the decisions for you.”
“You fucking swordsmen are seriously pissing me off right now...”
“I’ll threaten you again. Accept this one-week truce.” The Constellation Murderer gripped his sword tighter. “If you don’t, I will tear one of your towers down.”
Silence fell over the devastated wasteland.
“You jerk... Consider your name added to the Magic Tower’s kill list.”
“Do you agree to the truce?”
When the Magic Tower Master clicked her tongue, a piece of golden sparkling paper appeared in front of the Constellation Murderer. He read the contract with an indifferent look, then took out his fountain pen to sign it.
“Nice negotiating with you. Now leave.”
“I’ll bury you together with the Sword Emperor, Constellation Murderer.”
“I will make sure to write down your threat.”
“Ptui!”
The wizards turned away on their broomsticks. Like a swarm of locusts in autumn, they slowly flew away, covering most of the sky.
It was quiet now. There was no one around here except the Constellation Murderer and me. He turned to look at me. “I’ve fulfilled my promise, stranger.”
The Constellation Murderer described his situation calmly, as if he were talking about someone else.
“But after observing you, it seems I fell into a trap. Although I won the battle, my week’s worth of memories has been reduced to one day. This is a significant decrease in my power, which I believe was your intended goal.”
The Guardian called out to me in a low voice.
—Gong-Ja, don’t fall for it. He’s talking to you to buy as much time as possible. Don’t see that guy as a human being. He’s no different from a walking weapon that operates strictly based on the information he has.
Yes, I know.
I gripped the holy sword tighter and glared at the Constellation Murderer. “That’s right. I’m going to take you down.”
“But you see, I can’t attack you because of the promise I made. I can only dodge or block your attacks... That’s dangerous. If you’re the Sword Emperor himself or his herald as the Magic Tower Master said, that’s especially dangerous.”
“I’m the Death King, the Young Heaven of the Heavenly Demon Cult and the Duke Consort of Ivansia.”
The Constellation Murderer opened the diary and wrote my name down. His fountain pen moved as he asked, “What is the Heavenly Demon Cult?”
“It’s the sword that answers everyone’s screams.”
“What about Young Heaven?”
“It’s the sword that will swing first.”
“What is the Death King supposed to be?”
“It’s the name of the person who will take you in.” I drew up my red aura. It was my turn to ask questions. “Constellation Murderer, do you have any memories about starvation?”
“I have some written down in my diary. However, I don’t have any in my seven days worth of memories right now.”
I nodded before charging. “That’s why you will lose.”