Episode 393. 27th floor (4)
Before I knew it, I was feeling excessive tension and feeling wary.
“…”
The Dark God.
Because the ancient godhead I’ve often seen when climbing the Tower of Trials was looking this way.
She was waving at me as if she was infinitely happy, but her vigilance could not help but be extremely high.
‘This is…’
I felt.
It was an overwhelming level of divinity that was incomparable to anything I had built up until now.
If we talk about the existence closest to the strongest among the ancient gods, the level of the God of Darkness cannot be left out.
Unlike my time as a mere mortal at best, I was able to see for sure what level the Dark God had reached.
‘It’s a monster…’
I was sure.
Even if I used all of my strongest cards, that was a monster I might not be able to face.
Just because this side reached the realm of ancient divinity, it couldn’t be said to be equal to that one.
In front of such an overwhelming presence, I instinctively even prepared a defensive posture.
[Hey. ]
One, and that for a while.
[There is nothing to be so nervous about. ]
Soon, the moment when the god of darkness sat at the table in the center of the flower garden, spoke softly and smiled.
[As I said from the first time we met, please know that I am not your enemy. ]
“…yes. I know. You are the dark god Thank you for caring about me—”
[ ─You still treat me so hard. sadly. I want it to be more friendly than that. ]
“…yes?”
[Hey, can’t you be respected by a godhead with whom you have a good relationship? You, too, have now fully attained the status of a divinity. ]
“…then I understand.”
As it was, I realized that the tone of the dark god was strangely caring, so I treated it comfortably.
Considering that the God of Darkness has shown a consistent liking for this side anyway, there is no need to be more vigilant.
Recalling that, as he approached the center of the garden where the god of darkness was, he lowered his excessive formality to an appropriate level.
Only then did the dark god put a smile on his lips.
[Whoops. okay. hey That’s it. Now I’ve learned how to express my affection…]
“First of all, I want to ask you something.”
[ …huh? ]
“Why did you bring me here?”
It seemed that the God of Darkness wanted to have a conversation with this side, but he had no intention of doing so.
“I know that many ancient deities have favor with me.”
It was natural.
“But even so, there is no way you can pay a huge price to the tower and change the 27th floor ordeal.”
There was no such thing as goodness without a price in the world.
A lot of ancient deities wanted something from you, so they gave a lot of money to help the Tower of Trials.
Knowing that, I didn’t send complete trust to the other person.
I just look straight at the dark god and ask him to tell me what that monstrous ancient deity wants.
And…
[Sad. ]
Actually, this prediction was not wrong.
[That I can’t deny anything in your words. ]
It was a perfect answer without a single wrong answer.
***
[True…]
The dark god smiled softly and bitterly under the black robe.
[ okay. hey Nothing you said was wrong. Many ancient deities want something from you. ]
But I nodded and answered calmly.
“I knew it.”
This is within the range of predictions.
Most of the ancient deities I’ve seen so far while climbing the tower have been concerned with what level I’ll reach.
That means that most of the ancient deities are interested in the fact that the Tower of Trials is nurturing me into a tool that can be used for some purpose.
‘At least most of the ancient gods cared about the Tower of Trials subordinating me as a tool.’
That means one thing.
“It’s a hostile relationship with the Tower of Trials.”
Many ancient deities do not want the Tower of Trials to achieve ‘some purpose’.
[ …. ]
And the God of Darkness, who heard that, replied by touching his lips with his thin fingers.
[Is it a hostile relationship…. Aha. It could be interpreted that way. But that’s not all. hey ]
“Then.”
[Simple. What the Tower of Trials wants is the worst kind of peace. There is no divinity that agrees with the future that grotesque desires. not even one. ]
“….”
[This is all the information I can give right now. unfortunately. I am also entangled in the causality established by the Tower of Trials, so there is no way I can tell you. ]
“Is that so?”
Can not help it.
Since the Tower of Trials is a transcendental structure that guards against monsters beyond common sense, such as ancient deities, it cannot escape the law of causality.
Somehow, even though he had become an ancient god, he didn’t know much about the tower, so it was regrettable, but there was no solution for this either.
‘If you want to know about the Tower of Trials, you’ll have to find out the answer from the number of floors beyond.’
There is no need to plunge deep into delusion for which there is no simple answer.
Then it was important to figure out what to do right now.
As it was, I looked at the god of darkness and parted my lips.
“Assuming that’s the case…”
Even if it wasn’t just the Tower of Trials, there was more information I needed to find out.
“The Pantheon. And that a number of ancient deities are in charge of this 27th floor ordeal. You should tell me what that means.”
Like this one.
[If you don’t have to, don’t worry, I was thinking of answering everything about it. ]
The God of Darkness nodded and said with a relaxed smile.
[Hey. It may not be particularly applicable to you, the challenger who climbs the Tower of Trials, but most of the gods who have reached the upper level belong to a huge group called the Pantheon. ]
“….”
[The trials on the 27th floor, originally hosted by the Tower of Ordeals, must have been the worst turning point for you. It means that it will be replaced with a request from the ancient deities belonging to the pantheon. ]
“It means they’re going to ask me to do something there.”
[That’s right. ]
I was able to grasp the situation roughly.
Perhaps the Pantheon is an elite group of many high-ranking deities out there…. The ordeal
on the 27th floor was supposed to be turned into the worst by the Tower of Trials, but it was able to change it after a number of ancient deities led it.
[This time, it’s an achievement you got because your growth was great. ]
The Dark God said that as if he was proud of this side, but I shook my head.
“Most of the ancient deities wanted me to not move as the Tower intended, so I must have become this way anyway—”
[No. ]
“?”
However, the dark god answered coldly.
[Most of the ancient deities love you. it definitely fits However, saving you is another thing. It’s not like luck. ]
“What else is that?”
[Hey. Most of the ancient deities would have been coldly abandoned if you didn’t live up to their expectations. I just tried my hand at seeing that your overwhelming power can stand against the tower. ]
“….”
[Is that all? Even if many ancient deities didn’t help you, the divinity and spirit you showed at that time could have negotiated with the Tower. After all, most of the ancient deities were helping without harm. ]
“That’s a very realistic story.”
[Sorry if I feel bad—. ]
“There is no reason to feel bad at all.”
Hearing that, I felt bittersweet, but then changed that feeling to a friendly one.
“It’s simple.”
[…? ]
“That means I’m worthy even from the point of view of an ancient deity.”
[ …. ]
“Then, since it’s been confirmed this time, there’s no reason to feel bad.”
At that, I licked my lips with a smile mixed with twisted sympathy.
“So…”
But…
“You can tell me what it’s like to be commissioned by the Pantheon.”
Did you like that over there?
[It’s really like you. ]
Seeing this, the god of darkness opened his mouth slightly in surprise and answered with a subtle smile.
[The contents of the Manshinden side are not excessive, so I tried to change it, but I don’t think it’s necessary. ]
And.
[The Manshinden side is asking you to recapture the holy relic and to punish any offending traitor. ]
“A holy relic?”
[Me and the god of arrogance, and all the holy relics of higher-ranking deities other than ancient deities were stolen by some kind of traitor. ]
“That must be a big deal.”
[ Indeed. Ah, I can give you enough explanation in advance about this. The hunt for the traitor who stole the relic is over. ]
“Then let’s take a look.”
As I said that to the Dark God, she nodded and reached out her hand into the air.
Her hand was buried in a darkness, and then the darkness beyond wriggled and changed shape.
In the blink of an eye, the darkness touched by her hand was formed as if it were a single substance, and it took the form of a screen.
[This is the planet where the traitor who the upper gods of the pantheon want to be punished is located. ]
Before I knew it, a video of pretty good quality was emerging beyond the screen.
[Scandia. ]
It was a world that seemed to be rich in vitality, with a wide sky and a vast land.
He had the most peaceful disposition out of all the worlds he had seen while climbing the tower.
To put it bluntly, it has a peacefulness close to Earth, but it seemed to be better than that.
The Dark God spat out the words as if he knew that.
[It is one of the rare planets in this universe where no god or monster is born. ]
But she shook her head with a bitter voice as if she was sorry.
[But it’s not like that anymore. ]
Suddenly, after those words, I saw something huge coming to the planet in a video.
“…”
After seeing that, I was able to notice a certain fact.
[ …okay. hey Since you are also an ancient deity, you seem to have noticed. that it is not ordinary. ]
And.
[Scandia. Landed on that rare, peaceful planet. That’s the traitor who escaped from the pantheon. ]
The Dark God spoke of him with a display of shallow anger.
[God of birth. Dyrmoa. That is the traitor who ran away after taking the holy relic of the pantheon. That’s it. ]
next moment.
[And it’s not like he doesn’t know the subject even though he reached an ancient deity more than a hundred years ago at most. ]
The fact that I noticed came out of her mouth, and our eyes met.
[The punishment of the ancient deity. ]
That means one thing.
[That’s what the Pantheon side is actually expecting a lot from you. ]
27th floor.
Bondi where I had to face the worst.
And as a result of twisting the divergence, the content of the ordeal at the end was to defeat the ancient deity.
