[You have entered the enhanced 86th floor of the Tower of Despair, 'The Great Sanctuary!']
A massive island reached after crossing the Sea of Lamentation.
As soon as they stepped onto the island, Belia and the pilgrims knelt down.
"We have finally arrived. This is where the sleeping god Azriel rests."
Pilgrims who insisted on offering prayers at every opportunity.
Leaving them behind, he walked deeper into the island.
*Thud thud thud thud! Thump thump thump thump! Tap tap tap tap! Squeak!*
Kancho, who had been running around busily, slammed on the brakes.
"Captain! Yodel Ranger Deputy Commander Kancho! Island reconnaissance complete!"
Truly a ranger who had roamed the Yodel Forest since his yodeling youth.
He had scouted the densely wooded island in an instant.
"No monsters, sir! Completely silent!"
"Think something will drop from above like last time?"
"Can't rule that out, so I planted clay at key points!"
"Oh. How much?"
"Enough to turn this island to dust!"
He swallowed dryly.
Something told him they might end up as dust too, but surely not? He must have set it up properly, right?
"But why is this a sanctuary? It looks like an untamed jungle."
Kancho, who had climbed onto his shoulder, pointed ahead.
"If you keep going this way, there are some strangely shaped buildings! Lots of crooked, haphazardly drawn pictures too."
Kancho lowered his voice.
"Looks like Seira drew them."
He instinctively looked around.
She was nearby, but thanks to the whisper, she hadn't heard.
Let's go check it out.
To the place with Seira's drawings.
*Whoosh...!*
How far had they advanced toward where Kancho pointed?
The dense forest ended, revealing a massive ruin.
Each structure rivaled a high-rise building in size.
Even the tools, likely used by the inhabitants, were enormous.
"It's a giant kingdom!"
"What?! Momo wants to see too!"
Momo quickly climbed up and settled on the opposite shoulder.
With her golden eyes sparkling, she was probably scanning for anything worth taking.
*Ding!*
[This is a place steeped in the history Azriel built!]
[Long ago, this place was filled with Azriel and his army of light!]
[The army of light, which fell into slumber alongside Azriel, who lost most of his radiance! Traces of their breath remain everywhere!]
"Oh? Interesting!"
Elia's eyes sparkled as she examined the murals.
To her, with her primordial curiosity, this place was a treasure trove of knowledge.
He had planned to ask her to gather information anyway, and she was already pulling out various books to compare with the murals.
"Come over here, Momo! I found a good spot to work!"
"What?! Where?!"
The Kancho-Momo duo jumped off his shoulder and ran off somewhere.
He walked over to Camilla, who was puffing out smoke.
"He seems to have been quite proud."
Even without being a ruin expert, he could tell intuitively.
Everything, from the murals to the architecture, was made by Azriel to commemorate his own achievements.
"Looks like he invaded everywhere he could."
As he moved, the empty map filled with bright colors.
It seemed to depict the countless conquest wars Azriel had waged.
"Light that transcends brilliance devours everything it touches. Beware the light of gluttony."
As he muttered, Camilla smirked.
"Where did you hear that?"
"One of the Bible verses Cardinal Carlo told me yesterday."
There were dozens more verses that seemed to refer to Azriel.
And among them, not a single one.
Worshipped or revered Azriel like Yahweh or Jesus.
Every verse warned of Azriel's resurrection.
*Phew.*
Blowing out smoke, Camilla wore a strange smile.
"This place called the Tower is truly baffling. It seems detached from reality yet closely connected, and while connected, it remains independent."
"Exactly."
He shrugged.
Years had passed since the Tower appeared, but humanity hadn't uncovered much.
It felt like they only knew what the Tower of Despair, or the system, allowed them to know.
Take the named movements the Vatican discovered, for example.
If they hadn't paid close attention, they would have just thought a named entity suddenly appeared and moved on.
"It ends here."
Camilla, who had been walking ahead, pointed at a wall.
The only place on the map that wasn't filled in.
That was probably where it was.
The being of sloth and gluttony born from darkness, Nia.
"Master."
Elia, bowing, drew an alchemy circle on the ground.
Hands emerged from it, clearing away the dirt and vines nearby.
No wonder the ground felt hard underfoot—there was an absurdly large stele lying flat.
It was covered in unreadable characters.
"Can you read it?"
"Of course! I've learned various scripts from deciphering ancient texts!"
After scanning it once, Elia smiled.
"This is a record of defeat!"
Turning her head, Elia alternated her gaze between the mural she had just examined and the stele on the ground.
"He leaves records of victory in visible places and puts defeats on the ground? How petty."
Settling on the ground, Elia read down the stele.
"The abyssal darkness that took root there was incredibly deep and thick, so even when the god and his army delivered a judgment of light, it didn't budge and swallowed everything. Basically, it sounds like they threw everything at it, but it was devoured by the darkness."
Skipping through paragraphs, Elia stopped near the end.
"In the end, the god lost most of his army and his light and retreated. The darkness wasn't unscathed from the prolonged battle either."
"So Nia didn't finish off Azriel."
"The darkness burdened with the tasks of sloth and gluttony never left that place."
Come to think of it, at the altar they visited last time, one spot was hollowed out.
He guessed it had lain there so long it had turned into something like a fossil.
"Let's see."
Elia, hands clasped behind her back, examined the stele and shrugged.
"There's no record of how it ended. Whether for Nia or Azriel."
"Vile beings descended upon us."
It seemed she had finished her prayers.
Belia, walking slowly, twisted her face.
"They served the same light but persecuted the god. Because he was a being that broke the balance."
"Did they also seal the apostate who fought the god?"
"Yes. They cast out both beings they considered thorns in their side without any sacrifice. But fortunately."
Belia looked up at the towering temple.
"Unlike the darkness, which was completely banished beyond the abyss, the god left behind a final light for the future. Very secretly, so the vile ones wouldn't notice."
He nodded and spoke casually.
"If that banished darkness returns, it would be troublesome in many ways. For our god, and for those who committed vile acts in the end."
"Yes. It would be a disaster. But you need not worry."
Belia continued with a confident face.
"The banished darkness no longer exists in this dimension. If it did, the god would have noticed. The darkness fell into a distant dimension that no being can reach. No one can find it. Ever."
He and Elia, whose eyes briefly met, swallowed dryly.
If they knew that darkness was currently sleeping at his house in Seopangyo, they'd be shocked, right?
They might even faint.
'So bringing Nia to the Tower of Despair could get us caught immediately.'
He got some good information.
He'd have to bring her while keeping her well hidden.
Taking a breath, Belia met his eyes.
"Apostle. Thank you for leading the pilgrimage here. Thanks to your devotion, the god will soon awaken."
"Good."
"Then I'll go prepare the ritual."
Belia turned and walked toward the temple.
A sneer formed at the corner of her mouth.
'How laughable. False apostle. Your role ends here. Enjoy the little time you have left. Soon, the god's judgment will fall upon the false one.'
He watched Belia walk away for a moment.
*Ding!*
[You have successfully led the pilgrimage to its destination!]
[This is a location you were originally supposed to reach on the enhanced 89th floor of the Tower of Despair!]
[By killing the remnant of judgment, Teharam, on the 85th floor, the number of planned trials has been significantly reduced!]
[The planned 90th floor is 'Subjugation of the Divine Azriel.' With the player's consent, the enhanced 87th, 88th, 89th, and 90th floors will be compressed! Upon compression, the floor changes to 'Resurrection of the Brilliant Tyrannical Light, Azriel!' You can participate in the entire process, from the heretical ritual to the moment of Azriel's resurrection! Do you wish to combine?]
Oh?
This could be considered a reward for killing Teharam.
Originally, he would have just continued the pilgrimage and then immediately entered the subjugation battle.
Now he had more opportunities to cause trouble.
Smiling, he nodded.
*Ding!*
[Four floors are being combined! Upon next entry, you will enter the floor 'Resurrection of the Brilliant Tyrannical Light, Azriel!']
[Thanks to the player's outstanding performance, the pilgrimage has ended safely!]
[The enhanced 86th floor of the Tower of Despair has been cleared!]
A stream of experience gain messages scrolled up.
Probably because he hadn't done much, the increase was pitifully small.
Stretching his back, he looked at Elia.
"How is it? Did you see everything?"
Elia, who had thoroughly examined the records, gave a thumbs-up.
"I've got it all in my head! From the order of the ritual to the items used."
"Good, good. Then let's head out and prepare. How to weaken Azriel as much as possible before his resurrection, and how to feed our friend Azriel's light."
"Captain!"
Where had they been playing?
Kancho and Momo, covered in mud, came running.
"Look at this, sir! We found it down on that cliff!"
"It's squishy!"
Kancho held out something like a black pudding.
He carefully poked it with his finger.
At first, he thought it was just mud, but no.
As Momo said, it was squishy with a strange texture.
"Momo will show you a magic trick!"
Momo hid the pudding behind her back.
Then she brought her hand out again.
"!?"
There were two.
She hid it again and brought it out, and this time there were four. Then eight.
"What do you think of Momo's infinite multiplication magic?"
"Oh? Our chubby one brought something interesting?"
Elia, kneading Momo's plump cheeks, examined the pudding.
*Plop!*
Without warning, she poked the pudding with her finger.
"No! The pudding will die!"
It seemed to split in two, but then instantly returned to its original size.
This wasn't division; it was replication.
"Chubby one. Take this outside with you."
"Got it!"
*Ding!*
[Greedy Collector Momo's unique trait, 'Right Seizure,' activates!]
[An unidentified life form in the Great Sanctuary is transferred to player Eugene Hyun!]
Elia wore a meaningful smile.
"Well, well. Maybe we can make some good medicine?"
Giving a thumbs-up, Eugene Hyun stared at the temple beyond.
A divine hunt.
His heart was already racing.
Let's hurry out and prepare.
[You have exited the enhanced 86th floor of the Tower of Despair!]
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T/N:
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