The Sea of Wailing, 85th floor of the Reinforced Tower of Despair.
How much time had passed since entering this place?
Jinhyuk, who had been silent, finally spoke.
"Even if the difficulty went up, isn't this a bit much?"
"That's right! This is clear tower abuse!"
"Abuse."
"Right! Abuse!"
Correcting his word choice, I looked straight ahead.
Right now, we were out on a vast, sprawling sea.
On a tiny sailboat that wouldn't be strange if it sank at any moment.
I looked back.
The pilgrims were following on similar sailboats.
I'd placed Seira and Renya on each boat for protection.
"Carmela."
"Hm?"
"Is this what a pilgrimage is supposed to be like? Can't we use a bigger boat?"
"Hmm, then it wouldn't be called a pilgrimage. Hardship has to follow for a pilgrimage to have meaning."
"Did you ride a boat like this on your pilgrimage too?"
"No? I rode a massive galleon that didn't shake at all."
"Then isn't that not a hardship?"
"I hate physical hardship."
Carmela answered nonchalantly, blowing out smoke.
Watching her, I got the feeling that hardship definitely hadn't followed on her pilgrimage.
Then was it even a real pilgrimage?!
A tsk-tsk-tsk sound came from beside me.
"That old hag is no good. Total fake believer."
For once, I almost nodded without thinking.
Anyway, when would the monsters that were probably the 85th floor's clear condition appear?
If they didn't show up soon, something bad might happen.
That's because—
"Commander. Dark is on his last legs."
Just as Kancho said.
Dark, who suffered from terrible seasickness.
He looked like he was about to cross the River Styx any minute now.
I walked over to Dark, who was practically sprawled out near the back of the boat.
His face looked like it was carrying all the hardship of this pilgrimage.
"Dark, are you oka—... No, you're not."
I didn't even ask.
It was obviously the worst.
"I told you to de-manifest."
Dark, looking unrecognizably gaunt, shook his head.
"I'd rather have seasickness than listen to those two's mockery."
He glanced sideways at Seira and Renya on the boat behind us.
He must really hate seeing them.
The two of them, sneering at him for being weak.
"I'll have to ask the alchemist to make me a potion later. One that knocks me out while standing up."
It made me think again.
About the pride he was willing to protect, even by drinking a knockout potion.
"Commander! Can I fish? The water's super clear! There must be lots of fish... Huh?!"
Kancho, who had been looking down at the sea, flinched and backed away.
"What's wrong?"
"Just now, a shadow this big whooshed right past!"
He swallowed dryly.
A giant shadow passing under a tiny sailboat in the middle of a vast ocean.
It was one of those moments that brought to mind the thalassophobia I'd seen online.
Plus, the unfriendly system still hadn't told us.
Why this sea was called the Sea of Wailing.
As cold sweat ran down my back, I heard prayer sounds from the boat behind us.
For some reason, they were all on their knees, chanting prayers as if they were about to cry.
"I'm scared!!"
Kancho jumped onto my shoulder and clung to me.
His fur was itchy, but since he was scared, I decided to put up with it.
I quickly crossed over to the back boat.
"Why did you suddenly start praying?"
Velia Blackwell, who had been praying with her hands clasped, opened her eyes.
"We have been tested by Teharam."
"Teharam?"
"The first sea creature created by God, a remnant of judgment left in the water."
Velia continued, speaking these ominous words as if they were nothing.
"In the abyssal sea, Teharam rises, its body so vast it cleaves the black waves and touches the sky. Teharam's breath boils the sea, and when it stirs, waves rise like mountains. Those cast into the test will lower their heads in fear. Humans will be swept away and shattered before it in an instant. You must meekly accept Teharam's test and pass through."
About five seconds after her long recitation ended.
Ding!
[Teharam is a remnant of judgment that has governed the Sea of Wailing for eons!]
[To avoid judgment, you must pass the test Teharam presents!]
[If you fail, Teharam's wrath will surge upon the sea!]
[Clear condition updated! Cross the Sea of Wailing!!]
"Why is there a sea inside a tower?"
I blamed the Tower of Despair for no reason.
It wasn't like it would listen.
The sailboat began to rock.
More precisely, the sea began to swell.
I instinctively realized it.
Something was rising from deep, deep below that water.
"How do we pass the test?"
"You must offer a sacrifice to Teharam and pray with respect and sincerity for 100 days. If not, the Sea of Wailing will never yield its path."
That was why they had suddenly knelt down and started praying.
"You, the apostle, and your companions must also pray. If even one person does not pray with sincerity, Teharam will not withdraw its wrath. We have supplies, so use these as a sacrifice and pray."
The pilgrims pulled out meat, fruit, vegetables, and various other ingredients from their bundles.
They said it was a path of hardship, but they were eating well.
Velia, who had laid out the sacrifices, looked at us with a question mark on her face.
Her expression asked why we were just standing there blankly instead of praying, since she had just told us what to do.
"Before Teharam appears, you, apostle, should hurry and pray..."
"I'm not doing it."
"What do you mean...?! We will all drown!"
If the method were simple, I would have prayed.
But the moment I heard "100 days," I immediately rejected it.
We were in a hurry, and spending 100 days on the sea? I wouldn't do it even for 10 billion.
'That thought was a bit arrogant. Since my annual salary is 100 billion now.'
As I quickly repented, Velia grabbed my arm.
"You must pray! Hurry, before it's too late! We can't sink after coming all this way! Teharam is a remnant of judgment! It cannot be opposed by human power!"
"We'll see when we try."
"What if it doesn't work..."
"Then it doesn't work."
As Velia tried to say more, I quickly crossed back to my original boat.
The waves were rising high, as if its appearance was imminent.
The sailboat was now rocking so hard it was hard to keep balance.
Thanks to that, Dark's face had gone from white to pale.
"It's over. He's already crossed the river with Grandpa Toto."
Kancho pronounced his death sentence on his own.
Grandpa Toto was still alive and well, so why did he keep saying that?!
I approached Dark and spoke.
"Let's go with Plan B."
He must have been waiting for it.
The corners of Dark's mouth curled up.
Dark stood up, rolled his neck and shoulders, then pulled out his Everfrost Halberd and kicked off the boat.
"Handle the barrier."
I nodded, and Carmela pulled several talismans from her bosom.
With a light flick of her wrist, she sent the talismans flying, and a thick barrier was erected over all the boats.
Dark glanced back to confirm the barrier was complete.
Now those pilgrims wouldn't freeze to death, so let's freeze everything to our heart's content.
"Ssssss."
Dark inhaled, then glared at the raging sea with an annoyed face.
"Calm down now. You goddamn sea."
He swept his Everfrost Halberd once and sprayed it toward the sea.
A blue aura leaked from the undying Dark's body, riding the halberd down toward the water.
The moment that aura touched—
Crackle!
The sea began to freeze.
"!!!"
Velia Blackwell's eyes widened as she watched the scene.
She had thought the apostle, who wouldn't listen to reason, would get them all killed in Teharam's wrath. But that wasn't the case.
The doctrine said this about Teharam:
Unless he himself calmed his anger, the sea's wrath would never be quelled.
But what was this?
Silence fell over the violently churning sea.
A sea calmer than before Teharam had even appeared.
It was such an unreal sight that even witnessing it directly, she doubted it was real.
As Velia faltered, Seira, standing at the bow of the boat, spoke.
"Be careful. Don't leave the barrier. You'll freeze in an instant."
She finished speaking and slowly looked around the frozen sea.
Honestly, she had to admit it.
It was a calamity that was awe-inspiring no matter how many times she saw it.
"Phew. Now I can finally live."
Dark, who had returned to the boat, wore an expression of utter satisfaction.
With no shaking underfoot, it couldn't be more stable.
"Next time, let's freeze it a little earlier. Master."
Jinhyuk smiled.
It was a bit late because he was checking the clear condition.
We just had to cross, so now we could take it easy... Boom!!!
"It's an earthquake!"
Kancho, who was about to climb down, quickly jumped back onto my shoulder.
Boom!! Boom!!!
It seemed it wasn't called a remnant of judgment for nothing.
A vibration that shook this entire thick sheet of ice.
I was seriously worried about this Teharam guy's skull right now.
"Kyaaaah! Judgment!"
"The remnant of judgment is angry!"
Whether there was a vibration or not, we could just cross over and be done with it.
But looking at the pilgrims' state, it wouldn't be easy.
"Commander. I think we should ditch the fake believers. They're just dead weight."
"Yeah. I feel the same way."
The vibrations continued without end.
Teharam didn't seem willing to give up on us.
Swoosh!
A massive shadow brushed right under the ice.
It was close enough now that I could roughly gauge its size.
'Damn huge.'
It felt like an incredibly long eel.
After following the shadow to the end, I spoke.
"Dark, can you make a hole around there? Big enough for the eel to come up."
"Sure."
He waved his hand lightly, and the ice at the edge of the frozen area crumbled.
Teharam quickly noticed and swam toward it.
And not long after.
Kwaaaaaa!!!
The remnant of judgment, Teharam, revealed itself.
Its overwhelming majesty made the pilgrims give up even praying and just collapse on the spot.
On the other hand, Jinhyuk and his party, who had seen the Black Dragon Drakhan before, just took it in stride.
"Kancho, get down. We're going into the eel's mouth now."
"Got it! Mouth is no good!"
It must be really angry about the sea being frozen.
The moment it spotted us, Teharam shot toward us at terrifying speed.
I got off the sailboat and gauged its length again.
Black Shadow Island wasn't enough to split it completely.
Sswik.
I pulled out the Soul Reaper and spoke.
"Dark. I need a foothold at this angle."
Dark created an ice stepping stone at the precise angle.
I stepped onto it and lowered my stance.
The Gait of the Soul Reaper, Katiel.
[Resonance - Extreme Speed]
Kuuuuuuu!!!
Feeling the explosive power seeping into my feet, I waited.
And when Teharam's snout was right in front of me—
I kicked off the stepping stone.
[Black Shadow Island]
I drew a jet-black line.
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T/N:
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