#47: Chapter 47 — Favored by The Outer God

With a sickening thud, Baek-seon’s head burst apart.

From the severed neck billowed pure white smoke, spilling out as countless souls.

The wandering spirits clustered into a massive lump, slowly taking shape.

As the white mist tried to escape the Tower and touched the second floor’s floor and ceiling, the surroundings began to crumble as though a Gate itself was collapsing.

With the mana supply to the clone generators cut off, the monsters’ illusions also started to fade away.

I recalled what the overseer had warned us during the first mission.

If a Transcendent Awakened released their power even once more, the Tower might collapse entirely.

Without Baek-seon’s help, there was no way to take down three rank-1 monsters.

So instead of risking my cover by summoning tentacles, I had chosen to collapse the terrain itself.

Cutting off the generators’ mana not only erased the monsters but also served another purpose.

The ground beneath us was a maze riddled with traps, ice walls—and, most importantly, a pit of boiling lava.

Kiiiiek!

The three surviving Basilisks plunged down with the collapsing floor.

Stepping across the crumbling ceiling, I rushed to Yoo Se-byeol.

She was worn out from the long battle, but didn’t appear seriously injured.

“Are you alright, Deputy Commander?”

“I was in danger, but I’m fine. More importantly, why did the floor collapse?”

“Lady Baek-seon intervened. We managed to send the beasts below, but they’re likely still alive.”

“There are people underground. Mostly mages, and mostly Lower Level. Some are just civilians. If we leave it like this, they’ll all be in danger.”

Yoo Se-byeol prepared to descend through the massive hole.

Unless you were lucky enough to drop a rank-1 monster straight into lava, even a fall from this height wouldn’t kill it—she knew that, too.

“I’ll go first and check the situation below. You verify the other participants are safe and then link up.”

“It’s dangerous alone, so I’ll go with you.”

“Then at least request support from the Special Unit. I don’t know if they can make it in time with the crowd, but have all of Division 3 assemble.”

“Understood.”

We could call for support on the move.

I bent down so I could hop onto her back.

“W-wait, miss…!”

By the time he finally grasped the situation, Seol Si-heon came running, breathless.

“It’s dangerous if you go down there.”

“I know. You can stay up here.”

“We’ve been fighting for a long time—we’re exhausted. And this is the middle of Yeouido. Other guild strike teams will arrive soon; waiting is the rational choice.”

As a staff officer leading a guild’s assault team, his judgment wasn’t wrong.

The monsters that had fallen into the “three-legged race to hell” couldn’t easily leave the Tower of Proof’s pit.

We had been the first to spot the Basilisks and engage them, so liability later wouldn’t be pinned on us either.

But Yoo Se-byeol only gave her former subordinate a sheepish smile.

“I know.”

“Miss?”

“Even so, we’re Special Unit. We don’t do that. It’s urgent, so I’m going down first. If there’s anything to handle up here, Hayan will brief you.”

“Ah…!”

With that short reply, she dove straight into the hole.

Left without my ride, I reluctantly pulled the Tentacle of Transparency from my sleeve and asked him:

“Where’s Baek-seon-nim?”

“……”

“Mr. Seol Si-heon?”

“The other swordsmen are guarding her over there. I don’t know why, but she can’t open her eyes…”

I hadn’t expected a Transcendent-level Awakened to die from a single Extreme Magic strike—that shot had been a gamble.

As I’d guessed, the head I blew off had already regenerated, but she still hadn’t regained consciousness.

If anything, that was better; once she woke up, she’d likely attack me first.

I doubted I could pass it off as a miscast, but complicated things could wait.

“Looks like she overexerted herself dropping the Basilisks into that trap-riddled zone.”

“Could be. A hole like that wouldn’t exist unless a Transcendent did it.”

“Anyway, please gather the other participants and head to the first floor. Anyone Middle Level or higher will help.”

“Got it.”

“And above all, take good care of Baek-seon-nim until she comes to. If she wakes and doesn’t remember the last few minutes, please tell her she got caught by the Basilisks’ petrifying gaze and I barely saved her. I’ll follow the Deputy Commander.”

“Wait!”

His face had gone stiff, very different from the dismissive look he’d worn earlier.

He hadn’t seen me fire Extreme Magic into Baek-seon’s head in the chaos… right?

Just in case, I palmed the hardest, most hippocampus-damaging-looking rock from the floor as a contingency, and he said:

“You’re thinking the same thing…?”

The same thing?

Was he asking if I’d stake my life on this, like Yoo Se-byeol?

“The Special Unit isn’t exactly where the money is.”

“……”

“In any case, I’m counting on you. Your role is important too, Mr. Seol Si-heon.”

I wasn’t afraid of the monsters, but I did feel my life was in danger—for another reason.

Praying Baek-seon wouldn’t remember a thing when she woke, I used my tentacle to descend.

When I reached the first floor, it was as expected: the three Basilisks were trapped in the first mission area packed with snares.

One thrashed in the lava, another wandered lost in the labyrinth.

As I approached the one in the maze, it spotted my heat signature and charged, smashing through every wall.

A moment later, with a serpent so massive its head nearly touched the ceiling bearing down on me, I scanned my surroundings.

Unless Yoo Se-byeol had fallen into a trap earlier, the cameras in this area were still broken.

Making sure no one was watching, I whispered under my breath.

“Digestion.”

The Basilisk came slithering in with a sharp hiss, like chains being dragged.

Just as it opened its jaws wide to swallow me whole, a massive violet tentacle burst from the ground and swallowed it instead.

“Chew it thoroughly.”

“Kieeeek!”

The Tentacle of Digestion lunged eagerly.

Empowered by the Star Scar, it had grown large enough to fill the entire labyrinth passage. Even for the 86th tentacle, its suction was monstrous, dragging the Basilisk down whole.

The serpent’s tail lashed violently in resistance, but a mere snake had no chance against tentacles.

At last, the monster was completely devoured. I stepped back outside as though nothing had happened, scanning for the last one.

“There it is.”

On the frozen wall, the final Basilisk was locked in combat with Yoo Se-byeol.

To block petrification, she kept her eyes shut, swinging her sword by feel.

Unlike before, when three Basilisks had been mixed with clones, she struck calmly, driving her blade between the scales to open wounds.

By blowing off Baek-seon’s head and damaging the tower, I had already diverted Se-byeol’s death-by-poison fate, but she was still only a Middle Level swordsman.

Unlike the Sword Immortal, she hadn’t mastered Myriad Toxin Purge.

So I fired off Extreme Magic to cover her.

With my support, the Basilisk didn’t last long, its blood splattering across the cold ice wall before it collapsed.

Wiping the venom carefully from her blade, Se-byeol asked:

“What about the others?”

“Both incapacitated. Once the other participants arrive, they can finish them off.”

“Something’s wrong. This isn’t even inside a Gate—monsters like these don’t just appear out of nowhere.”

“You’re right. I think we’ll need to go underground and check.”

Yet from the ceiling speakers, the announcements that had been blaring nonstop earlier were now silent.

I checked my smartwatch, only to find the broadcast feed completely cut to a black screen.

It had been fine before the second mission began, which meant something had happened afterward.

I opened the emergency alert menu to report the situation to nearby Special Unit members.

It was my first time pressing the emergency call button.

But nothing happened.

The entrance had sealed shut, cutting off outside signals completely.

“Looks like the connection’s dead.”

“Think someone’s behind this?”

“Most likely. Maybe demons.”

“Hm…”

But at the last Council session, there hadn’t been a single mention of the Tower of Proof.

Not every demon who crossed to Earth attended the Council, but at least word would’ve spread. That made it unlikely.

Excluding demons, only a handful of people could both plant monsters inside the Tower—built by two Magic Towers—and override its systems.

The ones that came to mind: a Transcendent Awakened. Or the Tower’s own architect.

It seemed too messy for one of the Seven Immortals, so I leaned toward the latter and scrolled back on my smartwatch.

The internet was dead, but I could replay the earlier broadcast.

— Hello everyone! I’m Perez from the Yellow Tower’s Belgium branch, your host for today’s Tower of Proof!
— And I’m Hans of the Blue Tower.
— Oh! Right from the start the leaders shot ahead! Most of them are swordsmen trained in martial arts, spearheaded by The Old Gods’ Wound!
— They’re moving too fast for the cameras. Reminds me of my wife.
— Haha, is your wife an Awakened with speed like the Spear of Thunder?
— No, that was the speed at which she cheated while I was away on a business trip.

“Deputy Commander.”

“Mm?”

“Do you know anyone here?”

I showed Yoo Se-byeol the screenshot I’d captured of the two commentators bantering on broadcast. Her eyes widened.

“The mage on the left.”

“This guy?”

“Yeah. I met him a long time ago when I was with The Old Gods’ Wound. He came to my grandfather asking to buy this sword sheath.”

“A sheath, huh…”

“He tried to persuade us, saying he wanted to study it, but got rejected and left.”

I checked the mage she was pointing at.

He really did look like a villain.

“But why ask now?”

“Because I think he’s behind all this. The Basilisks appeared while we were mid-mission.”

“Wait, don’t tell me—you’re trying to frame someone again like last time, are you?”

What did she mean, “framing someone”?

This was a deduction based on rigorous tentacle-forensic analysis.

Sure, in the process one innocent civilian had been falsely accused, and one Transcendent ally had been forced to retire—but the case wasn’t closed yet.

“This time I’m certain. There’s no way three Basilisks just wandered into the Tower of Proof and decided to settle down here.”

“I’m not saying there’s no mastermind, but still…”

“Let’s figure it out as we go down. If you think I’m wrong, just give me a signal and attack immediately.”

I persuaded her that way as we reached the first basement floor.

The flickering corridor was deserted. Papers and half-drunk coffee lay spilled everywhere, as if people had evacuated in a rush.

Yoo Se-byeol frowned at the name on a shattered mug just as a massive crash shook the operations room nearby.

“This way!”

“Right!”

We sprinted toward the sound, the Tower already crumbling around us.

Inside the control room, filled with monitors and control devices, two mages were locked in battle. A barrier split the room, spells hammering back and forth.

On one side stood Perez of the Yellow Tower.

On the other, Hans of the Blue Tower.

“Why would you do something so horrific, Hans!?”

“It’s all for the greater cause.”

“I trusted you!”

“That was the last thing I told my wife, too. And she betrayed me—dated three more men after that. That’s when I realized. This world has no need for gods.”

“……”

Two Upper Level Awakened, staring each other down.

Yoo Se-byeol drew her sword and shouted.

“This is Yoo Se-byeol of Special Unit Division 3! Both of you, drop your mana!”

“We must stop him, Se-byeol! Help me, quickly!”

“Come to me. You’re being deceived.”

“Uh…”

It was impossible to tell which one had turned the Tower into a war zone.

But Yoo Se-byeol’s sword tip eventually leveled at Hans.

The reason was simple.

When we’d reviewed the broadcast earlier, she remembered: he had once tried to take her sword sheath.

Not only that—he wasn’t a black mage, but he specialized in poison magic, always speaking ominously.