Chapter 164
At that same moment...
In a frozen space.
Neon signs glowed everywhere.
Dark buildings stood scattered throughout the city.
Holographic advertisements floated above billboards, while bizarrely shaped vehicles hovered in the air.
[This floor is no longer functional.]
The residents walking through the streets...
The orphans being beaten in an alley...
The families sitting down for meals...
For some reason, every single one of them had stopped completely, as though trapped inside this dazzling city.
This was the 80th floor.
A floor closed by the Tower because of the System and Lee Seha.
Step. Step.
Someone walked leisurely through the frozen city.
A smiling face.
Narrow eyes that still revealed nothing of what lay beneath.
Ruzian.
"Haha."
"The atmosphere is rather ominous."
"To think someone as cold-blooded as you would come looking for me with such a distorted expression."
Ruzian stopped.
Red mist spread in front of him.
Black feathers fluttered through the air.
Then a man stepped out from within them.
Huge pitch-black wings spread behind his back.
Long black hair fell to his waist.
His eyes were crimson.
He wore a black suit and stood far taller than the average man.
"...You already know why I called you here, Ruzian."
"I merely came because you summoned me."
Ruzian smiled.
"Is there some reason I'm unaware of?"
The instant he finished speaking...
Hssssss.
The frozen space distorted.
Buildings.
People.
Everything began disappearing.
In a matter of seconds...
Nothing remained except darkness.
The man stood only a step away from Ruzian and looked down at him.
"Answer me."
"Do you know why I came here?"
His voice was low and icy.
At the same time...
Dense dark-crimson killing intent filled the space around them.
"...Oh?"
Ruzian remained completely unbothered.
He shrugged as though asking whether the man was really talking about him.
"My, my."
"You seem to overestimate me quite a bit."
"With you placing so much faith in me every time, I hardly know what to do with myself, Lord Schunau."
Ruzian glanced around at the altered surroundings.
Then smiled.
"More importantly..."
"Why did you call me?"
"I'm quite busy myself."
"Not as busy as you, perhaps, but still."
"You already know what's happening below, don't you?"
He watched Schunau's reaction for a moment.
Then continued in his usual slippery tone.
"The Dragon of the End has appeared on the 50th floor."
"It won't be long before it encounters Player Lee Suhyeok."
Beep.
Ruzian gestured.
A blue screen appeared in the air.
It showed the situation on the 50th floor.
"SKRIEEEEEEEEEK──!!!!"
Indura poured out a disgusting aura as it attacked Suhyeok with dozens of tentacles.
Another screen showed different regions of the 50th floor.
"W-What the hell is this...?!"
"M-My body, fuck!! S-Save me...!"
"F-Fuck!!! Get this off me!! P-Please...!! AAAAAARGH!!"
The moment Indura was summoned into the Tower...
A black contaminant resembling sticky slime spread across the entire Central Plains.
Land.
Buildings.
Crops.
People.
Whatever it touched became corrupted.
Those contaminated couldn't even resist.
Their entire bodies turned black...
Then they died.
Many Players were among them.
Aside from the dome-shaped Special Stage created by the Dragon of the End...
The entire 50th floor was being contaminated at terrifying speed.
"Hah."
"Indura, of all things."
Ruzian sounded almost impressed.
"Looks like this has become quite a large-scale incident."
"I didn't expect things to go this far."
The screen changed again.
Now it showed a vast assembly hall where Constellations from across the Tower had gathered.
"Hah! So this is how it ends!"
"You went on and on about peace, and now you've sided with Asgard?!"
"You call yourselves Archangels, but you're no different from fallen demons!"
An Olympian Constellation shouted.
On the opposite side, a huge, muscular Asgardian Constellation roared back.
"Look who's talking!"
"You think we'll fall for that?!"
"Do you think we don't know you're working with Paradise to strike us?!"
The Constellations of both factions hurled accusations at one another.
Even unaffiliated Constellations were among them.
At a time when every individual Constellation's strength mattered...
The major factions had already begun recruiting independents.
Each side carried its own grudges and justifications.
Their resentment toward one another had only deepened.
Then...
"...Everyone, please calm down."
Warm light spread through the hall.
At the center...
A Constellation with six pure white wings slowly ascended the platform.
The leader of Paradise.
The one known as the Miracle of Three Days.
The moment he stepped forward...
Silence briefly fell.
Amid the overheated atmosphere...
He clearly stated Paradise's position.
"We have taken neither side."
"This gathering exists only to mediate the conflict."
"So please, everyone, calm yourselves."
But...
"Shut up!"
"You've always done this!"
"You lull everyone with sweet words, then scheme behind their backs!"
"Watching you grovel before those Asgardian bastards is disgusting!"
As before...
Now that they had already been designated enemies through manipulation...
Words of mediation only made things worse.
"Hah."
"As expected, Olympus has nothing but filthy mouths."
"That tongue will shorten your life."
"Look who's talking!"
"Kuk."
"Kuhahahahaha!"
Ruzian burst out laughing.
He looked genuinely entertained by the scene beyond the screen.
"Ah."
"This is hilarious."
"To think they'd hate each other this much."
He turned off the display and looked toward Schunau.
"As you can see, it seems Paradise has gotten dragged into the conflict between Olympus and Asgard as well."
"Oh, that reminds me."
"Isn't this what they call a shrimp getting crushed between fighting whales?"
"Haha."
He continued circling around the subject.
Then placed a hand to his forehead and shook his head.
"Anyway..."
"Even if you're Lord Schunau, it's troublesome to summon me whenever you feel like it."
"Especially to a space the Tower itself has already closed──"
"Rexion was defeated by an Outer God."
Schunau's voice cut through him.
"No."
"By the System."
"You know more about the Tower's affairs than almost anyone."
"Don't tell me you didn't know."
Silence.
Then...
Ruzian finally smiled as though admitting the truth.
"...Ah."
"So that's what you meant."
"Yes."
"I knew."
"I'm not on your level, Lord Schunau, but the Tower has delegated authority to me as well."
"Of course I noticed when Lord Rexion's Rank completely disappeared──"
GRAB.
Schunau seized Ruzian by the collar.
His face twisted with rage.
The hand gripping Ruzian's clothes trembled.
"You bastard!!"
"You knew the System would do this and still didn't stop it?!"
"...Haha."
"It's rather difficult when you grab me like this."
Ruzian calmly took hold of Schunau's wrist.
But Schunau showed no intention of letting go.
His anger only grew.
"Is this how you repay the grace of the one who saved you when you were dying?!"
"Do you think you would've survived that day without Rexion?!"
Then...
GRIP.
Ruzian's fingers tightened around Schunau's wrist.
The corners of his mouth fell.
The smile disappeared.
His narrow eyes slowly opened.
"Fine."
"I get it."
His crimson eyes were filled with killing intent.
"Now let go, you bastard."
"...!!"
There wasn't a trace of humor on his face.
Schunau's pupils widened.
He had never seen Ruzian look like this before.
Slowly...
He released Ruzian's collar.
Thump.
Ruzian calmly straightened the clothes that had been messed up.
Then, without even looking at Schunau, he spoke in an ice-cold voice.
"There's nothing you or I can do right now."
"If you want revenge, do whatever you like."
"But if even Lord Rexion was defeated..."
"What exactly do you think you can accomplish?"
