Mad and Odd, sitting side by side, widened their eyes.
Jinhyuk had just finished telling them everything he had experienced and witnessed regarding the Lumen.
"No doubt about it. If he's the one Marvin Rodogus serves, then it's the Lumen who first set foot on this land. His name is Nekiel. A madman who called himself a god."
"So you're really planning to go after this Nekiel?"
Under normal circumstances, they would have tried to talk him out of it, saying it was impossible.
But Mad and Odd didn't.
It was because they had just witnessed the extraordinary power of Jinhyuk and his party.
"Yes. But I didn't know where he was, so I was slowly approaching him. However, if this seed can track those bastards for me, it'll be much easier."
"The power of the seed is certain. If it can chase them, it will pursue until their very breath ceases. But… so they were alive after all. Those moldy bastards!"
Mad spoke of the final day.
He said that when the Lumen were nearly annihilated by the beings born from the seed, Nekiel opened a door to an unknown destination.
The surviving Lumen threw themselves through that door in a desperate scramble.
"As soon as they disappeared through the door, the seed stopped chasing them. That must mean it's a completely different dimension from this tower."
A different dimension called the Tower of Despair.
As expected, there was a strange connection between the Tower of Myth and the Tower of Despair.
It was hard to say whether it was a bond or a curse, but anyway.
"So that's why you've been guarding the seed. Because you never knew when the Lumen might return."
"That's right. The Lord said that since they chose to flee the tower, they would never be able to return, but we couldn't rest easy, so we volunteered to be the gatekeepers. But where did the seed go?"
"Huh? It's on my hand… Ah."
It was gone.
While he was distracted, Mo Hwang had taken it with his nimble hands.
"Since it's already gone anyway, would it be alright if we took this seed? I'd like to give it as a gift to those Lumen bastards."
Odd and Mad looked at each other.
If those bastards disappeared as Jinhyuk said, there was no longer any reason to guard the seed.
And frankly, they were sick to death of it.
This daily routine of staying in one place and playing with stones.
Odd and Mad nodded at the same time.
"You may take it. And we thank you. You are stronger than us. Even if you had just taken it without this conversation, there would have been nothing we could do. Yet you showed us the courtesy of preserving our dignity as gatekeepers."
"We are in your debt. Mad and I will not forget this day."
"You're welcome."
He answered, swallowing dryly.
He could see Mad with a bloody nose in his field of vision, but it was probably fine to pretend he hadn't noticed.
Mad leaned his body against the crater and let out a sigh.
"So we can leave now. This boring stone game ends here."
"I'm tired of mountains now. I want to go somewhere with a sea."
"The sea sounds good."
"But now I'm worried about those humans."
Odd stared at Katman and his tribe, who were waiting to pass through.
"The Direwolves have taken root in the land left empty after our kin were swept away. They're cruel bastards who won't hesitate to eat humans when they're hungry. Until now, we were here, so they moved cautiously. But once we leave, they'll start rampaging like mad."
"You don't need to worry about that."
Question marks appeared on Mad and Odd's faces.
What was he talking about now?
"Because they'll be gone soon."
Jinhyuk turned his head to the other side.
An hour ago, a pack of Direwolves that had appeared from the wilderness had taken the food crates prepared by the tribe and disappeared.
Without knowing what was inside them.
Tap. Tap. Tap.
He tapped his fingers and stared in one direction.
There was nothing more he needed to do for the Direwolves.
He just had to wait patiently.
* * *
The wilderness on the opposite side of the crater.
Thud-thud-thud-thud-thud-thud-thud-thud!
Dozens of Direwolves crossed the path at incredible speed.
In their mouths were the food crates they had stolen from the Katman tribe.
The Direwolf pack passed through the maze-like winding paths and entered a large hill.
It was a hideout they had carefully chosen so that their enemies wouldn't find them.
"Grrrr."
The pack leader, letting out a growl, glared in the direction of the crater.
Having to eat this crap when there was so much fresh meat over there.
It was infuriating, but there was no choice but to endure.
Because if they crossed the line, they never knew when those gatekeepers might move.
But this time of endurance wouldn't last much longer.
For some reason, the barrier of the crater had disappeared.
The gatekeepers who had been guarding it were also subdued by unknown beings.
Since the place they had guarded for decades had been breached, the gatekeepers' role was over.
He could guarantee that they, having lost their reason to stay, would soon leave this land.
And after that? It was simple.
This land would become completely owned by the Direwolves.
Then, on that day, those humans would be finished.
He would tear them all apart, leaving not a single one.
"Grrr…!"
Smiling a triumphant smile, he opened one of the boxes he had just brought.
He wanted to eat fresh meat right away, but for now, he would soothe his hunger with this…?
The Direwolf's brow furrowed.
As soon as he opened the lid, something popped out with a *boing*!
"Gwaaeeeek!"
The Kancho that came out of the box immediately vomited its contents.
The delicious soup and seafood it had enjoyed were returned to their original state.
What a waste!
"Phew. I almost died from motion sickness."
Kancho muttered to itself and looked at the dumbfounded Direwolf.
"Hey, you wolf-bastards! You can't drive properly?! The Vice-Commander is disappointed! I almost crossed the river following Grandpa Toto!"
"Kreuk…?"
It watched the ensuing scolding for a while.
Then, the Pointy-Ear reached into its bag and pulled out a strangely shaped slingshot.
"This is the price for driving like crap!"
The Pointy-Ear kid took out a lump of clay much bigger than the slingshot and loaded it onto the string.
The gathered Direwolves watched the scene, growling.
It was so insignificant and posed absolutely no threat that they decided to watch a bit longer.
*Swoooosh!!*
Kancho, lying flat, shot the clay into the sky.
The clay soared high into the sky, leaving a thick trail behind it.
Kancho, touching its forehead to recheck the angle, gave a fluffy thumbs-up.
"Well then, take care, Wolf-bastards. This Vice-Commander is taking my leave now."
"Kraak!!"
As if trying to escape, the Direwolf opened its mouth.
*Chomp!*
As soon as it closed its mouth, a question mark formed.
It had definitely aimed and bitten, but there was nothing there.
*Wheeeeeee!!*
It turned its gaze to the sky at the sound of something cutting through the wind.
A red something descending at a right angle.
Not long after, the unidentified red thing fell onto the Direwolf's hideout.
And then.
*Flash!*
That was the end.
The Direwolf's grand dream of completely swallowing this land.
* * *
"Kancho, Vice-Commander of the Yodel Rangers! Reporting after mission completion!"
He patted the fiercely twitching ear.
There was no need to doubt the success of the operation.
Because it was clearly visible from here.
The mushroom cloud billowing up.
'What the hell are these guys.'
Mad and Odd let out a deep sigh.
They really didn't know anymore.
How had such ridiculously powerful people all gathered in one place?
"Hey, Giant! Where do you think you're sighing so deeply in front of the Supreme Commander?! Do you want a taste of clay?! Do you need me to make another crater for you to come to your senses?!"
Kancho's chattering drew a question mark from them.
It was so small that they couldn't even hear what it was saying properly.
Katman and the tribespeople entered the crater entrance, glancing at Odd and Mad.
"You don't need to mind us. We are no longer the gatekeepers of this place. Pass through as you please."
Katman bowed to the gatekeepers and then looked at Jinhyuk nearby.
When he had said he was going to meet the gatekeepers out of the blue, he thought something terrible was going to happen.
Contrary to his expectations, it was the gatekeepers who had suffered the terrible thing.
Katman, who had come to Jinhyuk, opened his mouth with a dazed expression.
"To think we can now pass through this place freely. I still can't believe it. I don't know how to thank you. You even got rid of the Direwolves, our greatest threat."
"Because you treated us to delicious soup."
"It was only a couple of bowls…."
"That's not true."
Katman and Jinhyuk looked at the large, clean bowl.
It seemed the soup suited their taste, as they had licked it clean down to the bottom.
After exchanging a few more words with Katman, he bowed his head.
"Well then, see you around."
"Yeah. If fate allows, let's meet again."
The tribespeople passed through the crater.
Odd and Mad, who had risen from their seats, also slowly began to walk.
"We should leave too. There's no need to stay any longer. I wish you good luck."
"I wish you good luck."
"Take care."
He waved for a while.
"Ah, right."
Mad, as if remembering something, looked at me.
"You asked me earlier, in passing, if the Lord had thrown the seed to help our race."
"Yes."
"We thought so too, and we thanked the Lord before he left. We said thank you for saving us. Then he said this."
Mad wore a strange smile.
"He asked who we were. And if we had been in danger."
"Then why…?"
"Because of an unbearable stench of rot. That was the reason the Lord swept away the Lumen. Of course, regardless of that, we still gave our thanks. Because we were saved in the end."
Having said this much, Mad wore a worried expression.
"It probably won't happen, but you must be careful not to offend the Lords, let alone Lord Kan Barzali. They are beings who can erase an entire country on a mere whim."
Finishing his words, Mad resumed his journey.
"Hmm. Lords."
He had never encountered them while playing the game, so he didn't even know they existed.
They must be people with immense influence in the Tower of Myth.
'Maybe it's because my floor is still low. There's so much I don't know.'
That thought brought a smile to his face.
As expected of the Tower of Myth.
It was interesting.
[Exiting the 27th floor of the Tower of Myth!]
* * *
Seoul branch of the Cheonil Church.
Chairwoman Min So-yul looked at the holy relics gathered in one place.
"Chairwoman. Are you sure this is alright? The hunter agency personnel dispatched from each country are on edge."
Min So-yul glared at the branch chief who had just spoken.
She wanted to scream at him.
She wanted to ask if he planned to delay any further when she was about to either die from her body exploding or be abandoned by the gods if she didn't do it immediately.
"Brother, don't worry. Even if everything is exposed, we only need to succeed in one place. After that, the descended god will lead our Cheonil Church. So prepare as planned."
"Then shall I contact the Runner…."
"Don't."
"Huh? Then which vessel will the god descend into?"
"Switching vessels is an easy task. For now, a complete descent comes first. I have already secured a replacement vessel, so don't worry."
The Runner who killed Marvin Rodogus, Yoo Jinhyuk.
That human was an unpredictable variable.
He couldn't possibly bring such a thing to the already urgent descent site.
'As long as the descent happens. Just the descent.'
Then everything would return to normal.
No matter how formidable Yoo Jinhyuk was, he was only a Runner inside the tower. In reality, bound by the leash of synchronization rate, he would be neither here nor there.
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T/N:
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