Chapter 310: Floor by Floor (3)
“…….”
I gazed at my son for a while.
Silence ensued. .
Uburka, who brushed his teeth with Aura daily, had sparkling white fangs. The evening sunset lingered between his teeth.
“Uburka.”
I spoke.
The silence had been around for a while now, so my voice continued uninterrupted.
“If I send you there, you’ll become an emissary recommending surrender. Do you understand what that means?”
Uburka chuckled softly.
“I know. Everything that daddy knows and worries about, I know it all. Yet, I also know that daddy has no choice but to grant my request. Send me.”
“I swear. There’s no son as rebelliously filial as you…”
“Ugor. Can such an adjective even be attached to ‘filial’?”
“Why not? Break the bounds of common sense, my son. Language is something we create.”
Our father-son conversation leisurely flowed into the evening sky.
“……Wait, you two. What kind of nonsense are you spouting?”
[Assistant Writer] spoke.
It seemed she was dumbfounded by our conversation.
“Well, language is indeed something we create. Getting trapped by the specter of language and losing sight of its essence is a pitfall that a writer must absolutely avoid. So, if my words don’t conform to grammar, it’s not that I’m wrong, it’s that grammar hasn’t caught up with me.”
“Thank you for agreeing, Assistant Writer. I’m glad that we’re on the same wavelength.”
“But let’s toss that aside and feed it to the stray dogs. You’re sending an emissary to the enemy’s heartland? So, your…”
“My son. Ugor.”
“……Right. I won’t ask how you ended up with a species resembling an ogre as your son. I generally avoid meddling in complicated family matters, and it looks tangled enough to be a computer’s power cable. Just tell me what you’re planning… You’re sending your son into the enemy camp?”
“Yes.”
“That’s dangerous!”
The [Assistant Writer] frowned deeply, her glasses following suit.
“Don’t you see the situation? The First Branch of the Magic Tower is calling for a desperate resistance. In such a circumstance, the enemy lord’s son arrives as a hostage? Will they say, ‘Come here, have a cup of tea, and then be careful on the stairs when you leave’? Or will they go ‘We’ve captured the vile King of Death’s son’ and start filming some sort of grim imprisonment drama?”
The reasoning followed Hamusutra’s analogy, befitting his Apostle. The decision was opposed by other Apostle-level Hunters of the Anti-Magic Alliance as well.
“The Assistant Writer is right. …Actually, I don’t even know what a grim imprisonment drama is, but let’s just say she’s right because it’s bothersome. The important thing is we’ve already given them a chance.”
“We gave them more than enough chances! Yet they refuse to surrender! King of Death. The mercy you bestowed has been trampled under their dirty feet. Give the order to attack now. Let Mahos’s warriors lead the charge and sweep the spire clean.”
“……While annihilating all the spiders might be excessive, one spire as a sacrificial lamb seems appropriate, right?”
[Berserker], the Apostle of the [The Warhorse of the Eternal Plains], and the apostle of [The Incarnation of Love and Lust] each put forth different words and reasons, but their intentions were crystal clear.
They wanted a massacre.
“…….”
That’s the problem.
[I had no choice but to condone the massacre.]
[I had to agree since that’s what they wanted.]
‘I would be betraying the Five Great Guild Leaders who acknowledged me as their leader.’
I promised my friends a new era.
They are still guarding our base, working for the lives and safety of ordinary citizens.
Thus, they are not here right now, but in fact, they have as clear a presence as the Guardian Spirit, existing by my side.
“…….”
Before I knew it, all the commanders around me were looking at me.
After all, the decision-making power was mine.
I glanced up at the sky.
“Is it evening now?”
The sky on the 50th floor was often cloudy. Through a slight gap, the sunset was bleeding.
Soon, it would turn dark.
A long night was coming.
“Until the dawn breaks and lights up the city.”
I looked at the tower.
“That is the time allowed for them.”
And then I looked at Uburka.
“Therefore, that is the time allowed for [you].”
I did not add that it was also the time allowed for [me], and therefore for [us].
I did not say that I too would bear the consequences of all the negotiations you conduct in my absence, or the fallout of a failed negotiation. There was no need to say that if I sent you, it was because I trusted you that much, or that if you failed, I would shoulder the responsibility of that failure.
It wasn’t because all the Apostles of the Anti-Magic Alliance were eavesdropping on our conversation. Nor was it because the First Branch of the Magic Tower would somehow be listening in.
It was because Uburka had already said it. He knows everything I know and worry about.
Nevertheless, he knows that I have no choice but to grant his request.
Yes, that’s known.
We all knew there was no need to add superfluous words.
I simply said,
“My son.”
I shook my head and spoke again.
“Chief Warrior.”
Uburka bowed deeply.
I tapped his solid and vast forehead with the back of my hand.
“Do what you can, must, and want to do, then come back.”
“I heed the family head’s command.”
The Chief Warrior of the King of Death Family answered.
“One night.”
I told the Apostles.
“Until dawn breaks. Until daybreak. Whatever you prefer.”
“…….”
“I know you’ve already waited a millennium. So, I fully understand how shameless it is to ask you to wait a bit longer.”
Then I bowed deeply.
So deeply that my forehead nearly touched the ground.
“Yet despite that, everyone. Could you possibly grant my request?”
“Ah, no.”
The Apostles were flustered.
“Wait, King of Death. You don’t need to bow for this…”
“That’s right! Without you, we wouldn’t even dream of attacking the Magic Tower…”
Some voiced their objections out loud, while others hesitated, biting their lips.
Naturally, there were also those who couldn’t suppress their boiling breaths.
“Hmm.”
“Mm.”
But even the most vehement among them did not object.
Exchanging glances and consolidating their thoughts, the Apostles began to speak one by one.
“Alright. We can wait one more night.”
“We’ve waited a millennium for the Millennium Magic Tower, we can wait a bit more… That’s fine, then.”
“One night, or even a thousand nights, a thousand years more, wouldn’t change the first spire bastards’ fate.”
Good.
“Thank you.”
With their agreement, I stood up and turned to Uburka.
“What are you doing? Go on in.”
“When the sky brightens, I’ll personally lead the vanguard and tear through the Magic Tower’s last spider web. You must hurry to persuade them.”
“Understood, ugor.”
Uburka deeply bowed his head.
Then, without giving anyone a chance to stop him, Uburka ran.
Yes, he ran.
If crossing hundreds of meters in a single step could be called ‘running’.
Kwaang!
The entrance to the spire burst open. Bang! Boom! Layers of barriers and hundreds of magical protections on the gate were shredded to pieces. Immediately, from the top of the spire, a warning alarm sounded. In fact, screams were heard inside the spire even before the alarm went off.
-Enemy attack! Enemy attack!
-What, what!? Who is it? What’s happening!?
-I am Uburka! The son of the King of Death! I’ve come here to talk with you!
-What the hell???
-His son? The King of Death’s? Just who did he mate with to produce something so unalike!?
-You want to talk and you bash down the door like a madman!
-Hahaha! Conversation is a privilege only the powerful can enjoy. The weak requesting a conversation is something you wouldn’t even listen to. I know. I know everything. So first, let me prove my strength!
-What do you know?! Hey, hey! Wait! Just, just wait! This is seriously no joke……
-Requesting backup! Requesting backup! Our forces are being annihilated……!
Kwoong.
With someone’s scream as the last sound, the spire’s iron doors closed again. It seemed they had prepared a backup door in case of a breach.
Impressive preparedness.
Who in the universe could have prepared for someone like Uburka?
“…….”
“…….”
The Apostles on our side were enveloped in silence.
“Uh…….”
The [Assistant Writer] barely opened her mouth.
“A pretty unique emissary for a surrender proposal, huh…?”
“It’s not wrong, though. If you’re powerless, no one listens to you.”
“Well, I’m convinced that you’re his father and he’s your son. You two are like two peas in a pod.”
“My heart is much better-looking, though.”
“Huh?”
“What?”
Night had fallen.
The spire, already like obsidian, became even quieter as darkness and pitch black merged. It was so silent, it was almost as if it didn’t exist, belying the chaos that Uburka had caused upon his arrival.
No voice or footsteps were heard.
“…….”
Time passed.
I sat cross-legged on the bare ground, meditating. The Apothecary scolded me for relying too much on Aura, but now was the time to gather it through ki meditation.
No one disturbed me in my solitary meditation.
Ordinary disciples were scared off by the formidable prowess I had shown ten days ago. The Apostles left me alone out of consideration.
At the moment, I was a father who had sent his son to a death ground.
“Aren’t you worried?”
The only one who didn’t feel the need to tiptoe around me was the ‘Grey Spider.’
She approached with her staff, using it as support. Clack, clack, and then she plopped down next to me.
“Damn. The thought of living like this for a while drives me crazy.”
“Hasn’t your magic recovered a bit already?”
“It is recovering. But that healer you brought warned me that using magic again could kill me. Ha! One gesture from me, and they’d be dead. And now this little shit talks to me like that, unbelievable.”
The Grey Spider grumbled.
“Is everyone from your world so brazen? They all seem to be…”
“Why do you do it?”
“Huh? Do what?”
“You heard that using magic might kill you. Why are you preparing to use it?”
The Grey Spider sighed deeply.
Far away, three hundred torches flickered in the darkness. But her gaze wasn’t on them.
Her eyes were fixed on the first spire, standing silently in the distance.
“I’ll need to use it soon.”
“You acknowledged your defeat as a duelist, didn’t you?”
“I did. But I can’t just stand by and watch those bastards die.”
The Grey Spider said it nonchalantly.
“What can I do? I have to die with them.”
“You’re loyal.”
I circulated the Aura slowly throughout my body.
“Charumu, right? The one who fled the Magic Tower with me. That kid stabbed his superior so efficiently, and from the second to the fifth branch, they showed a League of Legends-worthy change of stance. I thought there’s no loyalty among you, but…”
“What’s League of Legends?”
“An old game. Don’t change the subject.”
“Everyone has someone special to them, isn’t that right?”
The Grey Spider’s voice was still nonchalant.
Then she glanced at the three hundred torches and the Apostles surrounding the first Magic Tower.
“But there are more people who are not special at all.”
“So, listen. Don’t start with that [If you know who’s special to you, why did you do that to them?] nonsense. If you want to indulge in moral superiority, go ahead, but at least do it to those bastards too.”
The Grey Spider sighed, her breath heavy with venom.
“Isn’t it funny? [Condemning the Magic Tower.] [Mourning those oppressed by the Magic Tower.] [Therefore, we are innocent victims…] What a bunch of lunatics.”
Her words burned with intensity.
“They’re fake gods, all of them.”
I didn’t respond.
The Grey Spider took a deep breath and exhaled.
“Damned bastards… Talking big about justice, cause, remembrance, but from start to finish, they’re just rationalizing their feelings. It’s the basic principle of cults, right? Tailoring doctrines to fit the situation of the day?”
The night air was no longer chilly.
The anger from the Apostles’ forces and the hatred from the Grey Spider had made this night muggy.
The Grey Spider concluded with malice and contempt.
“So, King of Death. The first Magic Tower, my sisters who stepped onto the 50th floor with me, they can’t surrender. Lie flat in front of the self-righteous bastards? Death would be better, wouldn’t it?”
I spoke.
“That’s why you’ll stand with them.”
“That’s likely how it will end, yes. They’ll probably all die, or worse.”
The Grey Spider’s voice lost its heat.
She then spoke again, lightly.
“That’s the natural course of things. That bastard, if he was here, he would definitely spot some bullshit like “I’ll give you 200 ‘likes’ for it”. Right, King of Death?”
I gave a bitter smile.
“I’ll refrain from commenting on the Guardian Spirit’s statement.”
“Yeah. Don’t say anything. Leaving that guy aside, why did you send your son as an emissary?”
“Are you curious?”
“Not so much curious as disgusted. Seeing you sit here moping makes my stomach turn.”
The Grey Spider narrowed her eyes, seemingly angry.
“Look. You’re no different from that Sword Emperor. Always aiming higher and higher, leaving behind those who tried to stay by your side. Wasn’t he your son? If you were worried, you should have stopped him, not…”
“I’m not worried.”
I said.
“I don’t worry about my son.”
“…….”
“Uburka said he would persuade them, and since he said so, he will. It’s not a whim. You may not know, but Uburka once brought a whole continent to its knees. He’s a hero of his era who promised to succeed. I have never doubted my son.”
Silence ensued.
The Grey Spider quietly closed her eyes and spoke.
“How can you be so sure?”
Still with closed eyes, the Grey Spider muttered softly.
“He won’t persuade them, you know? I just told you. It’s better to die or suffer a worse fate than death than to surrender. They won’t do it. They can’t because…”
“Because, we were in the same situation.”
The Grey Spider flinched.
Slowly, she opened her eyes.
“The same situation?”
“Uburka. His race.”
“What does that have to do with…?”
“His people were once slaves to another race. They even worshiped me as a god at one point.”
I explained.
“And his people chose a different path from yours. A path you can’t imagine. A path that one might question as even possible. Uburka will tell them, speak to them… that [a different world] might exist.”
“…….”
“Only someone who was born in the same place but walked a different path can persuade another.”
I didn’t look at the Grey Spider. I gazed at the 300 forces and beyond, at the sky.
“So, my son will surely persuade your subordinates to surrender.”
Gradually, dawn began to break.
