Queen Asha had always believed.
The most superior lifeform in the world, the being closest to a god, was the Rakshasa.
But what in the world was this?
This sight unfolding before her eyes.
Rakshasas, who should be more perfect and superior than anyone else, who should never kneel before the concept of death because they were so close to gods.
Why were they rolling on the ground, unable to get back up?
*Swaaaaaaah!*
A semicircular spray of black aura swallowed the Rakshasas.
A terrible slash that carved away parts of the body on contact alone.
The Rakshasas that barely survived regenerated, but the ones whose heads had been severed couldn't.
Just like that coward Lanzets, they met their end as nothing more than finely minced chunks of meat.
'Why.'
She truly couldn't understand.
Immortality, gained by absorbing other souls.
This was a divine power granted to the Rakshasa by their god.
It was only natural that no one except a god could touch them.
So why were they being broken by a mere human like that?
- Humans are... our natural enemy.
Now she finally understood.
Why Lanzets had spouted such nonsense.
And without needing to hear it, she knew.
Who had killed the Rakshasas that had left with Lanzets.
'Surely... we are the strongest.'
A doubt she had never felt before bloomed.
If the Rakshasa were the strongest, then what in the world were those beings who were cutting them down with overwhelming force?
*Kwaaaaang!!*
Dozens of Rakshasas were swept away by a single explosion.
From the sky, where dozens of formation circles were drawn, bizarre forms of attacks rained down.
"Kuaaaaagh! My arm! My arm!"
"Uwaaagh! Don't come! Please! Save me!"
What were they even seeing?
What were they looking at that made them crawl on the ground even though their arms and legs were perfectly fine?
And where had all the wounds on the man who had appeared first gone?
Those were injuries that should have killed him instantly.
'Is it coming true again? Even after hundreds of years?'
The Rakshasa prophet Mosatz, who had never been wrong even once.
She had wanted to prove it.
That the prophecy he left in his final moments was wrong.
For that, she had held her breath and lived in the shadows for hundreds of years.
Surviving to the very end would be the ultimate proof that Mosatz's prophecy was wrong.
But that damn prophecy had come true without fail.
In the worst possible way, turning everything Asha and the Rakshasas had built over centuries into nothing.
"Huuuh."
Rage surged, but she didn't scream or shout.
Instead, she steadied her breath and calmed her mind.
She had to stay calm.
She had to maintain her composure.
It couldn't end here.
What Mosatz had prophesied was only up to the appearance of the natural enemy.
No one knew what would happen after that.
Asha coldly surveyed the battlefield.
'That's it.'
The form of a Grim Reaper drawn behind Jinhyuk.
That was where it was flowing from.
An ominous energy that made all Rakshasas tremble in fear.
She was certain.
That energy was harming the Rakshasa's divine power.
[All Evils, hear me.]
She spread the command using the Rakshasa's unique voice.
[Kill the man called Master. And take the sword. That's all it takes.]
If their divine power was restored, the tide of battle would turn.
No matter how strong they were, they were ultimately a minority.
Against Rakshasas that endlessly revived, they would eventually tire.
And for some reason, the traitor Renya's power wasn't what it used to be either.
"I shall carry out the order."
The new Third Evil, Roku, with his long hair, bowed his head.
A strong warrior who used a spear of swiftness and a neurotoxin that brought death on contact alone.
If it was him, before that human even noticed, he could take his...?
Asha furrowed her brow.
It was only a moment she had looked away, but where had he gone?
The man's figure was nowhere to be seen.
*Kuuuuuung!!!*
Something plummeted at incredible speed and crashed into the ground.
With a massive tremor, cracks spread across the surrounding area.
And then.
"!!!"
The Third Evil, Roku, had vanished from her sight.
No, he had scattered.
Shattered into pieces, leaving no trace behind.
[All Evils...]
She tried to call the remaining Evils to send them after that man.
But she had to stop.
Because it was clearly visible in her field of vision.
The Fourth Evil, Raul, meeting his end swallowed by ice. The Sixth Evil, Maguz, cut in half by the black knight. And the Second Evil, Birakt, his entire body crushed like a tin can after being beaten by the ogre.
*Juchum.*
It had been a long time.
Since Queen Asha had taken a step back from something.
Then, fully turning her body, Asha pushed off the ground.
And she began to call.
For the only being that could save her at this very moment, the Tower of Despair.
* * *
[Soul Reaper harvests 1,171 souls!]
[Soul Reaper harvests 2,007 souls!]
[The level of the Transcendent-grade One-handed Sword, Soul Reaper, increases! Current Level: 7]
[Soul Reaper's Attack Power increases! Current Attack Power: 670]
[Soul Reaper harvests 971 souls!]
[Soul Reaper harvests 1,022 souls!]
.
.
.
The soul-harvesting messages piled up frantically for a while.
*Ding!*
[The level of Soul Harvest increases! Current Level: 10]
[Soul Reaper's Attack Power increases! Current Attack Power: 700]
[First unlock level reached!]
[Soul Reaper Katiel's unique skill, 'Resonance - Extreme Speed (共鳴-迅極)', is unlocked!]
You can now mimic the gait of Soul Reaper Katiel!
It is the step of a transcendent being! Katiel's speed was the greatest among the Reapers!
Each step consumes a massive amount of souls! As the level of Soul Harvest increases, the number of souls consumed decreases!
'Oh?'
The form of the Reaper had also changed.
A dark blue aura leaking from the lower part of the form.
As the aura wrapped around the legs, a strange sensation was felt.
'So this is Resonance.'
It wasn't easy to explain in words.
But he instantly understood how the Reaper Katiel had moved.
'I want to try it.'
As he looked around for a suitable friend nearby.
*Bang!!*
A loud noise came from not too far away.
Something kicking up a cloud of dust.
Kancho the Yordle Ranger, manifested on his shoulder, wiped the sweat from his forehead.
"I almost went to heaven! I had plans to order some stir-fried intestines and blood sausage when I got back, but I almost ate it a few days late!"
It seemed someone had targeted Kancho, the ranged dealer.
Fortunately, he had sensed the presence with his detection skill in time and re-manifested.
A shadow emerged from the thick dust cloud.
A burly figure that looked well over 5 meters tall.
In both hands, he held an axe even larger than Kancho's dual swords.
"Hehehe... So you're the one. The master of these ones."
"Boss. He's the strongest one."
Kancho whispered in a small voice.
His fur was tickling his ear.
"Which Evil is he?"
As Jinhyuk picked his ear and asked, the Rakshasa's lips curled up high.
"I am the First Evil, Vaikan."
The name the system had set as the clear condition for the Rakshasa Fortress.
Anyway, he seemed quite proud of the number one.
Still looking so triumphant.
It showed a confidence that he would win no matter who he fought.
"Did you just arrive?"
"You have good instincts."
Vaikan had been enjoying his last bit of fun in the nearby sea before becoming part of the Tower.
He came at the Queen's call, and it was even more of a mess than he had expected.
"It's not that I have good instincts. If you hadn't just arrived, you wouldn't be alive right now."
Jinhyuk scratched his head and looked around.
Seira, Dark, Elia, Camela—all his friends were participating in the battle.
If Vaikan had been here from the start, he would have been the target long ago.
"You say amusing things. Anyway, this is truly pathetic."
Vaikan clicked his tongue and looked around.
The so-called strongest lifeforms in the world, unable to defeat a few humans, ending up like this.
Now that he looked, even the ones with the Evil title were rolling on the ground.
"I hope you don't get too cocky just because you caught the Second and Third Evils. The gap between them and me is...?"
Vaikan furrowed his brow.
The time it took to blink once.
It was just that brief moment, but the human had vanished from his sight.
All that remained was a raccoon on the ground with a dazed expression.
*Huuuuuuung!!!*
A tremendous backdraft rose belatedly, and a question mark formed in his mind.
Where did this sudden backdraft come from?
If it wasn't from a massive energy passing through... *Seok.*
His train of thought was cut off.
Of course, Vaikan didn't realize it.
[Resonance - Extreme Speed (共鳴-迅極)]
It was a speed far too fast for his perception to follow.
"Huh? Boss?! When did you get over there?!"
Kancho, who had spotted Jinhyuk, jumped up.
He was definitely on the boss's shoulder.
But when he came to his senses, he was on the ground.
"Wow."
Jinhyuk looked down at the Soul Reaper in his right hand.
What a crazy weapon this was.
For just a fleeting moment, it felt like time had stopped.
That was how absurdly fast the movement was.
"Ah?!"
Jinhyuk, realizing belatedly, ran over to Kancho.
Then he picked him up and rubbed his bottom.
He must have flown off without a word and landed on his rear.
"I executed the Yordle Ranger landing technique. No damage."
Sand was caked all over his butt fur.
It seemed he hadn't executed the landing technique or had failed, but Jinhyuk pretended not to see.
"But why isn't that pig moving? He just stopped all of a sudden."
"That?"
Jinhyuk smiled.
It was only natural.
Because he had been split in two.
"Don't worry about it. It's ugly. Let's go help the others."
"Got it! The battle isn't over yet!"
Jinhyuk and Kancho walked away, humming a tune.
And not long after, carried by the wind that blew.
*Tuk.*
The head of the First Evil, Vaikan, fell.
* * *
At the very edge of the island, far from the battlefield.
Queen Asha stared into the empty air.
[Changing contract terms. Queen Asha of the Rakshasa, do you wish to belong to the Tower directly?]
"How many times do I have to say it! Yes! Right now!"
[I will convey the terms of the deal.]
Silence followed for a moment.
[The opponent's acceptance has changed the terms. The clear condition for the Unique Floor, Rakshasa Fortress, has been changed from defeating the First Evil Vaikan to defeating Queen Asha.]
"Take me there, now!"
[The Unique Floor has not been created yet. You will be automatically assigned when the time comes, so please wait.]
*Eudeuk!*
Asha, who was about to scream again, took a deep breath.
She had escaped the battlefield anyway.
All she had to do was hide like this and wait for the Tower to be created.
'It's not over yet. I'll pay you back tenfold. I swear.'
She ground her teeth and moved.
She would somehow grow her power in the Tower... *Kuung!!*
Asha's head slammed into the sandy ground.
She tried to get up, but a foot was pressing down on her neck, making it impossible.
And then, into her ear.
"Yo. Queen."
The voice of the ogre seeped in.
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T/N:
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