Chapter 288

Chapter 288

Trigger Warning: Suicide

The 40th floor of the Tower of Trials was called the Demon’s Section. Joshua’s company was just in front of it.

Theta had been in a state of resignation for a while. They’d cleared the floors below them in less than a day, all thanks to Joshua’s strength alone.

“God, man. It's so fucking unfair,” Theta muttered while pouting.

The army of undead on the 30th floor had been just the beginning. They pushed with overwhelming numbers, and the monster stronghold had been captured in an instant.

But that wasn’t all.

Even the booby traps that boasted so much power were useless in front of him! Flesh-eating mists, magic traps that breathed flames, even with the monsters constantly pouring in from all sides—Joshua had defeated them all with his power alone.

And the final stretch was nearing.

The Demon’s Section, 40th floor, was also called the Room of Illusions.

“...I swear, this is cheating,” Theta continued to mutter.

A fog obscured their view, but someone was moving forward without hesitation.

Theta gaped.

Iceline’s face was once again pale white, a familiar scene for Theta.

There was a reason for both of them to be looking like this.

It had started only ten minutes ago.

***

Fog covered the entirety of the 40th floor.

The Room of Illusions really lived up to its name. Its victims were tested by illusions, but the illusions were so convincing it was indistinguishable from reality. It went beyond just the five senses of the human body; the illusion even created pain.

In the past, Theta had struggled greatly on this floor.

The Tower Master Ian tun Murray, Theta’s greatest teacher and one of the Nine Stars, had had to fight desperately with him.

Theta shivered a little as he recalled that incident.

“It would be best not to move recklessly here,” Theta warned in a low voice. “If your body is exposed to that fog even slightly—”

However, warnings were always one step behind.

“Huh?”

Iceline had inadvertently stretched out her hand toward the fog and was swallowed up in it.

“No!” n0veLUsb.c0M

Theta’s cry was the last thing Iceline heard before she was sucked into the mist.

***

Iceline looked blankly around at her fog-filled surroundings.

“Where...?”

In front of her, a man slowly appeared like her ghost.

“Miss.”

“...!” Iceline’s eyes widened at the sight. She was surprised, but soon, joy spread over her face.

“Viscount Vince? How are you here?”

It wasn’t just him.

“We are also here.”

“Baron Blanco? Even Viscountess Seter!”

From the same place, well over twenty people appeared next to them. The important thing was that all of them were faces from Iceline's memory; they were the vassals of her family that had been annihilated by Marquis Crombell.

“You’re alive—!”

“Why did you forsake us?”

Iceline’s heart dropped as her expression crumpled.

“Sorry... I’m sorry... I, if I... had been with you back then, then—”

“WHY!”

Before she knew it, countless figures surrounded her.

Hic.

Iceline hiccupped.

The features of the people, who were no different than her family, began to change. Simply put, their new appearance was horrific.

Viscount Vince looked at her with one arm missing, but he was the best out of everyone. Baron Blanco’s intestines spilled out of his torn abdomen. A third of Viscount Tommy's scalp was missing, and his brain was visible. She saw Viscountess Seter’s severely burnt and scarred skin.

Soon, they were all cursing at her—vicious and cruel words.

“Stop spouting bullshit when you don’t even mean it!”

“Terrible bitch! Not even a monster would eat your body if it was ripped and shredded for them!”

“If only your kind-hearted father, Rebrecca, had a different mind, everyone could have survived! And even enjoyed even greater wealth and honor!”

“You bitch—while you were playing with your dirty fantasies of men, do you have any idea how long we’ve been wandering Gucheon.”

“This makes me so mad. I feel so resentful. Because of this bitch, we—”

Iceline couldn't bear it any longer and closed her eyes and covered her ears.

“Please, please...”

But it was no use. Their cries lodged even more deeply in her ears.

“If it wasn’t because of this bitch!”

“Dream on!”

“If you’re feeling even the slightest bit of guilt, then die right here!”

“That is the only way to release our deep resentment—”

Iceline wavered.

‘Should I... just die?’

Lost in thought, her eyes soon turned gray. The only emotion left in her was devastation, and soon, even that was gone.

Was there any reason to hesitate? She didn’t have any particular attachments left. If there were, it’d be her want of revenge and rebuilding her family.

When she thought of those two things, she had no choice but to grit her teeth and continue to live, if only because she felt guilty. But if her family and the others who were involved wanted nothing more than for her to die, then...

‘Right. I don’t deserve to even live, let alone be happy... Why did I have such dreams in the first place? Pathetic...’

But someone’s face seemed to cross her mind. Perhaps it was because she was thinking of death?

The man’s abyss-like eyes were particularly memorable. However, if she thought about what the people in front of her had said, she couldn’t continue to think about him.

‘Let’s just die.’

She found her vassals looking at her with eyes full of anticipation. Iceline lowered her hands from her ears. She slowly brought them further down until they wrapped around her neck.

Someone grabbed her wrist. Iceline’s eyes widened.

A single tear fell from her eyes.

“What are you thinking?”

“I...” Iceline muttered absentmindedly. She bit her lip, unable to continue her words further.

Her life would always be saved like this. She couldn’t believe that she had been deceived by a mere illusion and had been trying to escape from reality...

Iceline’s head dropped. She couldn’t face the person who had saved her.

Joshua glanced at Iceline, then he looked beyond her.

“I don't know who made this place, but this is a nasty piece of work.”

“Agreed, but...” Theta looked at Iceline before continuing his question. “How did you get inside the fog without losing your way? And how can you interfere with someone’s illusion—?”

Theta glanced at Joshua.

The fog around them had dispersed, unable to gather in one place. It was pretty crazy, and Theta knew that better than anyone else. After all, this was not a normal fog. If this was a fog that could simply be blown away by the wind, then Theta would have been able to do the same.

“Seems like you’re trying to acquire very valuable information that can’t be bought even with billions...”

“Huh?”

“I’ll make a deal with you.”

“A deal?” Theta cocked his head.

Joshua smiled at him.

“Are you married?”

“No,” Theta replied. “I’m not.”

“That’s good.”

“What are you talking about—”

“I’m talking about Cain. There is an order of knights created by my subordinates.”

“So?”

“Since you’re basically jobless, why don’t you try joining?”

Theta seemed bewildered by Joshua’s question.

“If you do, I'll tell you everything you want.”

“Are you asking me to be your subordinate?”

“Formally, that’s how it is, but you can think of it as a simple alliance. My purpose is to create a force that I can trust.”

“Look, I’m not even a knight.”

“Then let’s say I’ve created a job for an idle person who’s just wandering around eating and playing.”

“....”

“Of course, you’ll be paid pretty decently too.”

Theta couldn’t say a word. Joshua’s comments seemed patronizing. Regardless of whether Theta accepted or not, he was still aware of certain things.

Joshua was from Avalon, a nation that was called the Empire of Knights. Mages and knights. Oil and water. No matter how he looked at it, the two would never mix.

“Seriously—”

“I’ll let you think about it later,” Joshua cut Theta off. He stared straight ahead as if he considered their business finished. “Didn’t you say that the power of each floor is maintained by a special core located somewhere on the floor?”

“Yes.” Theta quickly nodded, brought to his senses by Joshua's voice.

“Is it the same for the 40th floor, the one you said was the worst?”

“Yes. It’s the same.”

“Then it’s simple.” Joshua donned a satisfied smile.

Theta froze.

“What are you going to do...?”

“Just watch from behind, like you’ve been doing until now.”

Theta furrowed his brows.

“Hey, I get how strong you are now. I get that you are not at the level of a human like me,” Theta spat sarcastically. Based on how he emphasized human, it seemed like his feelings were hurt.

“However, this place is an exception. As you can see, it’s not a place where you can do anything with brute force.”

Joshua smirked.

“Please be rest assured... This time, I will be watching from the back as well.”

“Huh?” Theta’s face crumpled into a confused expression.

Someone took a quick step out. Just based on appearances, he looked like Joshua...

“My familiar,” Joshua playfully informed Theta.

The other Joshua strode through the fog, unaffected.

Theta watched it go and frowned.

“Seriously,” he muttered. “This is cheating.”

1. Gucheon- a place where the dead lingers